Dangerous Games
by Gwendolyn M. Warlow
Summary: *COMPLETE* Ron resorts to extreme measures to uncover a plot on Harry’s life…He disguises himself as Draco’s girlfriend and spends the weekend with the Malfoys. Strange things begin happening when the plan isn’t nearly as foolproof as he thought.
1. In which things seem Ridiculously Simple

Authors' Notes  
  
This story began with a challenge from a friend to see if it was, in fact, possible to write a Lucius x Ron story, the least likely coupling that my friend and I could come up with. It turned into a monstrosity of a story that shows no sign of quitting and contains several other couples that you'll have to read to find out about. I've rated it "R" because of some questionable humor, although I'm not entirely sure that it deserves such a high rating.  
  
Of course, no copyright infringement is intended, and none of the characters or settings belong to me. Everything related to Harry Potter was created by J.K. Rowling and is copyrighted by her and various companies. This is merely a story that grew out of my love for her works.  
  
Please, review if you enjoy!  
  
  
  
1. In which things seem Ridiculously Simple  
  
It promised to be one of the strangest holidays of Ron's life. His parents were once again   
visiting Charlie in Romania - that wasn't strange. Ron was perfectly happy to stay at   
Hogwarts over the Christmas break with his friends Harry and Hermione. His sister   
Ginny was staying at school as well, and as usual was fawning over Harry and breaking   
into blushes whenever he entered a room. Hermione spent a good deal of her time in the   
Gryffindor common room, perusing old thick books as Harry and Ron played Wizard's   
Chess. The Christmas feast had been much the same as always, consisting of pumpkin   
juice and breads and a thousand kinds of pie.   
  
No, everything was perfectly normal except for one thing. Somebody was trying to kill   
Harry, and Ron had decided to do something about it.  
  
Ron was a bit tired of being "Ron Weasley, friend of Harry Potter, defeater of Extremely   
Dark Wizards, Witch Weekly's Most Eligible Bachelor, etc etc etc." He certainly didn't   
begrudge Harry his fame. After all, Harry had seen more adversity in his seventeen years   
than most did in a lifetime. Ron simply wanted to do more than sit back and watch Harry   
defeat foe after foe while Ron stood on the sidelines cheering. He felt it was both for   
Harry's sake and his own that he did what he did.  
  
  
Two days earlier...  
  
"Now," Hermione explained, "there are three lemon drops in this bowl. We're each going   
to grab one, and whoever is holding the enchanted one that turns black gets to go."  
  
Harry looked at her like she had gone mad. Hermione scowled.  
  
"It makes perfect sense, Harry," she pronounced. "Get along with it, then."  
  
Ron, Harry, and Hermione each plucked a lemon drop from the porcelain bowl. Ron had   
to agree with Harry that Hermione had concocted a very odd way of choosing who was   
"it," but when Hermione found a strange spell that she wanted to use, she did so. Besides,   
this would make his task easier.  
  
Ron concentrated on the candy in his hand. They had all agreed not to cheat, but Ron   
figured that sometimes you just had to. He mumbled a spell as quietly as he could, and   
watched as his lemon drop became gray and cloudy, then blackened and broke into two   
jagged pieces. Thanks to his spell, the other two candies remained normal.  
  
Harry stood up, frusterated. "I don't understand why you guys just can't just let me go!   
It's my head on the chopping block here, not Ron's. There's no reason for you to get   
involved. I can't believe I ever agreed to this stupid drawing lots scheme."  
  
"Stuff it, Harry," Ron answered. "Fair is fair. It's not like I'm doing anything dangerous,   
anyway."  
  
"Morphing yourself into Draco's girlfriend and infiltrating his house so you can   
eavesdrop on Death Eater meetings isn't dangerous?!"  
  
"Well," said Hermione, "It'll be okay. We haven't been able to come up with any better   
plans, and he'll be out of there in a day or so."  
  
"There has to be a better way," Harry grumbled.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
So here I am, Ron mused, the day after Christmas, ready to gulp down an extended   
Polyjuice Potion that will turn me into Blaise Zabini. The idea was a bit repugnant, but at   
least he wasn't turning into Draco himself. He wasn't sure that even Harry would be   
worth that humiliation.  
  
Hermione, in her vast and eclectic reading material, had found a way to alter the   
Polyjuice Potion. Instead of wearing off in a matter of hours, the addition of a few (highly   
illegal) ingredients would cease the re-transformation until the drinker wished it.   
Thankfully Professor Snape could always be counted on to have contraband ingredients   
like essence of brimstone and bottled kappa venom in his (not-so-secret) secret closet.   
Invisibility Cloaks were handy for such errands.  
  
The illegal items also had the useful side effect of cutting the brewing time for the usually   
lengthy potion down to twelve hours. As soon as the trio had heard that Blaise, who was   
remaining at school as well while her parents were taking a second honeymoon, intended   
to visit Draco at Malfoy Manor for a few days, the plan just fell into place. One of them   
would take on the form of Ms. Zabini, travel to Draco's house, and place a magical   
amplifier in the great hall that would allow those back at Hogwarts to listen through the   
companion amplifier. It seemed ridiculously simple, but none of them had been willing to   
actually infiltrate a Death Eater's home before. Sirius had warned Harry of a new threat   
to his life but refused to say more, and that had alerted them that Voldemort's current   
plan had to be much worse than they could imagine.  
  
Hermione ladled the thick, soupy liquid into a glass and handed it to Ron, attempting not   
to smell it. Ron gagged. Somehow the potion smelled even worse than it had when he and   
Harry turned into Crabbe and Goyle in their second year. Hermione looked vaguely   
queasy as well, and Ron surmised that she was probably trying her best not to think about   
her unfortunate experience being a member of the feline species.  
  
A bubble popped in the glass, spewing gray-green potion upwards into Ron's face. He   
wrinkled his nose and tossed it back, gulping as quickly as he possibly could. Harry and   
Hermione watched as Ron's hands flew to his throat. He made a strangled sort of noise   
and fell to the ground, grimacing. Ron thought he could feel his very bones shortening   
and rearranging themselves, his skin lightening and his hair lengthening. A sickening   
pain emanated from his stomach down to his toes. A short moment later that felt like an   
eternity, he stood up in his new form.  
  
"Umm...Ron..." Harry began.  
  
Ron glanced down. His clothes hung off him at odd angles, but he could still see the   
shape of his body. His curvy, female body. His curvy, drop-dead hot, toned and rounded-  
in-all-the-right-places female body. Ron gulped. This was getting weirder and weirder,   
and he wasn't sure if he disliked the circumstances nearly as much as he should.  
  
Ron stopped staring at himself and straightened. Unable to resist, he turned about.   
"Well, how to I look?"   
  
"Like you need to change into these clothes I brought," said Hermione, suddenly   
peevish. "It's almost eight and Draco is set to pick Blaise up at nine"   
  
Harry just gurgled a little before turning and hurrying out of the room muttering   
something about keeping watch. 


	2. In which Ron gets in touch with his Evil...

2. In which Ron gets in touch with his Evil Side   
  
Ron was slightly pissed. Well, he was nervous as hell at the thought of the sham he was   
going to have to pull off but he was doing it for a good cause and feeling wimpy was not   
improving his mood. But that wasn't why Ron was pissed. Hermione, in all her great   
wisdom, had given him heels. So what if that was all Blaise ever wore in terms of   
footgear? Hermione should have warned him or something. Given him a chance to   
practice walking. It wasn't going to do his cover any good if he fell on his face every   
time he tried to walk somewhere.   
  
Currently, Ron was tottering down the hall towards Blaise's room with Harry and   
Hermione trailing a ways behind. It wasn't helping that Harry had to make some sort of   
sarcastic comment every time he tripped. "Why don't they label the uneven places in the   
floor!!!???" Ron howled for the thousandth time, as he toppled over. At this rate they   
were never going to make it on time.   
  
"This is ridiculous," muttered Harry. "He has all the grace of a drunk hippogriff trying to   
ride a unicycle."   
  
"As if you would have done any better." As a punishment to Harry, Ron decided to   
torture him a little by showing extra thigh as Hermione helped him clamber back to his   
feet. Harry had always been a bit of a prude and Ron was pretty sure the mental conflict   
of extremely hot babe and oldest and best MALE friend was wearing on him. Sticking   
his butt out in the disguise of trying to regain his balance, Ron knew he was starting to   
get in touch with his evil side. The skirt was quite short.   
  
After far too long they finally reached the entrance to the Slytherin common room.   
Hermione gave Ron's ... er Blaise's (he would need to think of himself under this name   
or he would give himself away for sure) outfit one last straighten before skulking off   
down a side hall with Harry to wait for an opportunity to tie up all the loose strings.   
  
As soon as a group of Slytherin girls came by Ron slipped in behind him, dispensing with   
the Gryffindor's-do-not-know-the-password-to-the-Slytherin-common-room problem.   
He then made straight for Blaise's room, the route to which had been obtained by   
Hermione. Ron really didn't know how Hermione knew the layout of the Slytherin   
abode. She'd been building her personal spy network for years and became quite bitchy   
when asked anything about it. Why didn't she know the password into the common room   
then, you ask? Once again, we repeat, she became quite bitchy.   
  
Trying the handle to Blaise's room, Ron was relieved to find it unlocked. He slipped   
inside quietly and shut the door. Turning around, he saw Blaise primping herself in front   
of a full-length mirror. "Oh, you are so gorgeous. Draco is sure to love you in this   
outfit," she giggled to herself.   
  
"Too true," Ron said causing her to whirl about and then stand frozen in shock with the   
sight of seeing herself advancing menacingly. Ron took her lapse to mutter one of his   
few really well memorized spells. "Petrificus totalus." Blaise toppled backward, her   
head narrowly missing the mirror. Ron hurried to shove her under the bed and out of   
sight. Harry and Hermione would sneak in later and hide her somewhere better for the   
duration of Ron's absence.   
  
  
  
Ron had had just enough time to locate Blaise's bags and tuck the magical amplifier into   
the bottom of the larger one when Draco stormed into the room. "What's taking you so   
long?! I've been waiting in the common room for over two minutes."   
  
Ron's mind froze for a moment, desperately scrabbling for some logical excuse… or a   
reply, anyway. A reply would be good considering he was supposed to be the girl dating   
Draco and one would assume that she spoke to him as well. Well brain hurry up. Why   
are we late? (Hey wait a minute. Draco really is a snobby bastard isn't he? You'd think   
two minutes was two lifetimes the way he said it.)   
  
"What, can't you knock? I had to change my skirt." Ron hoped the ruse would suffice.   
He had no idea whether it sounded like a valid girl thing to say or not. At seventeen Ron   
knew himself to be, as yet, terribly inexperienced with girls, and besides, rather   
unobservant.   
  
"Oh, you're so pretty when you're angry, Blaise," Draco purred, stepping closer and   
running a finger down Ron/Blaise's cheek. "Too bad I didn't come in sooner. Coulda'   
had a bit of fun then, couldn't we?" His other had reached under the skirt and Ron felt   
himself go beat red and struggled for some answer to this dangerous new development,   
any answer. He was saved however when Draco turned curtly and picked up one of   
Blaise's bags, heading for the door. "We better get going. Crabbe and Goyle are coming   
over for lunch at one and I know how long it always takes you to get ready for social   
engagements, whatever their nature."   
  
He was out the door swiftly and Ron hurried to keep up, praying that he could stay on his   
feet long enough to make it to the car (or whatever the Malfoys felt it appropriate to   
travel in). There was a tense moment walking across the gravel when his ankles decided   
to give way and Draco caught him against his side, copping a generous feel before   
righting him/her again. Ron wasn't sure how he was going to deal with all this physical   
attention if Draco persisted in this vein. A couple of days had sounded like such a short   
amount of time but now Ron wondered why he and Harry hadn't thought of the obvious   
when they learned that it would be Draco's girlfriend one of them would have to   
masquerade as. Maybe only girls should take the form of girls.   
  
And of course it was a carriage. Ron should have known. There was an awkward   
moment when Draco actually acted polite and turned to hand his girlfriend into the   
carriage and meanwhile Ron was already attempting to surmount the difficult challenge   
of carriage steps in heels but everyone finally made it in and everything seemed to be   
settled.   
  
Ron knew that he had mentally spoken too soon when he felt Draco settle securely next   
to him. Ron tried to remain relaxed, knowing that a stiff posture would do nothing to   
help his acting but when he turned as an excuse to sidle a bit further toward the wall of   
the carriage he was pinned to it by Draco's very firm lips. 


	3. In which things begin to get Very Bad

3. In which things begin to get Very Bad  
  
  
Shit, what do I do now, Ron screamed inside his head. He had stiffened immediately and   
knew that he had to play it cool if he was even going to make it to the stupid estate. Ron   
knew that he would never live through the embarrassment of going through all this and   
failing miserably in his mission. So he tried to relax and kiss back, as, he was sure, an   
actual girlfriend would do. (He said he was still extremely limited in his experience.)   
  
While this was probably the right thing to do this was also definitely the wrong thing to   
do because it was right then that Ron noticed something terrible, aside from Draco's   
hand, which was once again creeping down his side. Damn, but Draco was a good   
kisser. With this realization Ron just about panicked. What a betraying body he was   
wearing that could inspire such thoughts about Draco, his sworn and usually most hated   
enemy! (Sometimes he had to hate Voldemort most for Harry's sake.)   
  
Ron knew he had to do something quick to break away from this terrible situation. And   
then genius struck. When Draco pulled away Ron whined in his best -- which was still   
pretty bad -- and most winning voice. "Not now, ok Draco, I've got a terrible headache   
that my best charms can't seem to get rid of."   
  
"I was wondering why you were being so quiet," said Draco almost regretfully, but   
moved a bit away giving Ron a chance to breathe a little more freely.   
  
"Oh no," Ron thought to himself. "This has gotten VERY BAD." He rubbed his temples   
with a look of pain that was not entirely feigned and promptly pretended to fall asleep.  
  
  
Because he was pretending to be Blaise Zabini pretending to have a headache to avoid   
the all-too-skillful lips of Draco Malfoy (how often do you get to say that, he wondered),   
Ron couldn't say exactly how long the coach ride to Malfoy Manor took or what sort of   
scenery they passed. In his mind, he imagined scenery that Draco's father would pick out.   
Twisted black trees that dripped slime. Smoking pits of sulpher. Red-eyed vultures. Yeah,   
lots of vultures.  
  
"We're here," Draco said and gently shook Ron "awake."   
  
"Wha…what?" Ron asked in mock puzzlement, batting his eyes for good measure.   
"Heavens me, I must have fallen asleep!"  
  
Draco gave him a strange look, then shrugged and hopped out of the coach. Girls, even   
girlfriends, could be weird.  
  
Ron allowed Draco to assist him out of the coach, flatly ignoring the large hands that   
wrapped around his (slim, sexy…oh shut up brain!) waist and lifted him from the   
vehicle. He took a look around. Malfoy Mansion, an imposing edifice of incredibly   
ancient looking stone, was much as he had imagined it (without the vultures and   
screaming Muggles on torture devices). However, it did look a bit…dangerous. The   
architecture was a mixture of Romanesque and Late Gothic, though Ron wondered how   
he knew that. Enchantment crackled and sparked in the very air, and although the sky   
was blue and sunny, several storm clouds were gathered about the highest tower,   
threatening rain. Lightning shot from one of them, striking the tower itself. The electricity   
traveled down the tower, snaked its way along the stone wall of the building, and hit the   
ground, exploding into a shower of hissing snakes and small lizards.  
  
Ron's mouth dropped open. Draco reached over and nudged it back into place, grinning   
lewdly.  
  
The entrance to Malfoy Manor was guarded by twin black marble snakes, rendered a   
little too lifelike for Ron's comfort. One of them flicked his tongue out at Ron as Draco   
led him in, and Ron could see a glint of wary intelligence in its eyes. Ron broke out in a   
cold sweat, sure that something in the mansion would see him for what he was. He had a   
vision of himself tied to the tower awaiting a lightning strike and screaming, while Draco   
and the real Blaise Zabini cackled evilly below, dancing about and waving sticks.  
  
The doors swung open. Ron blinked, getting his first view of the inside of famous Malfoy   
Manor. As he understood it, not just anybody got to walk through these doors. They had   
to be led in by a member of the family, or Bad Things happened. So he had heard,   
anyway. Who knew with a nutty bunch like the Malfoys.   
  
They stepped inside, Ron's heels clattering loudly on the marble floor. The entrance hall   
was large and vaulted, and the ceiling was enchanted to give the impression of being   
impossibly tall. Several suits of armor stood along the sides, and a snooty-looking man   
with dusty brown hair and a tuxedo stepped out and somehow materialized their coats   
into his arms, then disappeared.  
  
Draco looked at him, amusement twinkling in his stormy gray eyes. "Isn't it great?" he   
asked."  
  
"It's…" Ron searched for words. "Bloody weird, is what it is. I mean, beautiful.   
Charming. Cute."  
  
Draco looked at Ron searchingly, then shrugged. "My mom doesn't like it much either.   
But Dad and I do." He smiled again. Why is he smiling so much, Ron wondered.   
Lovesick fop.   
  
He glanced around again and caught a look at himself in a large, floor-to-ceiling mirror   
that was outlined with silver and gold writhing goblins. He had to admit that he had   
always thought Blaise was pretty, but given that she was in Slytherin and hung around   
with Draco Malfoy, he had never looked at her very closely and tried to avoid her at all   
costs. Oh, he was looking now. Slim but curvy body. Average height and build. Shiny   
black hair that cascaded over his shoulders in soft waves. Large blue eyes framed by   
thick black lashes. A soft, perfectly shaped mouth and – oh god – full, round breasts, the   
tops of which he could see peeking out beneath his low-cut white blouse. No wonder   
Draco couldn't keep his hands to himself. Ron was having a hard time keeping his own   
hands to himself.  
  
"Draco," a low, gravelly voice came from the top of the long, sweeping staircase.   
"Introduce me to your friend."   
  
Ron turned around and saw a slim, aristocratic man with long white hair descending the   
stairs. In his hand he carried a silver cane topped with a snake head, and he wore black   
robes with a scarlet velvet cape that attached with a silver pin shaped like an M. Lucius   
Malfoy. Ron stifled his natural urge to pull out his wand and hex Lucius into the next   
century. The stupid pin he was wearing probably cost more than his family's house.   
  
Lucius smiled and roughly clapped Draco on the back. Draco narrowed his eyes a bit, but   
recovered himself and spoke.  
  
"Dad, this is Blaise Zabini. Blaise, this is my Father, Lucius Malfoy."  
  
"Charmed," Lucius pronounced, and held out his hand. Ron extended his own, unsure of   
what to do. Lucius swooped down and brushed his lips across Ron's knuckles, gazing up   
at him with a strange, unreadable expression. Ron didn't know how girls were supposed   
to react to such things, so he covered his mouth with his other hand and twittered.   
  
"Nice to meet you," he said in a high voice.  
  
"Draco," said Lucius, "I just saw another carriage pull in. Why don't you show Blaise up   
to her room and then go greet your other guests?" 


	4. …Ron, as a girl, has terribly Weak Nerve...

4. .Ron, as a girl, has terribly Weak Nerves  
  
Ron threw himself down on the bed and, for what seemed the thousandth time that day,   
groaned. Draco had led him to a guest bedroom on the third floor. It was a very nice   
bedroom with an elaborate canopy bed and a large fireplace, but he was a bit confused as   
to what his next step should be. Change and go down to lunch, he assumed. Ron wanted   
to experience the confusion of seeing his new body naked even less than he wanted to   
play nice with Crabbe and Goyle for a few hours.  
  
A knock sounded at the door, loud and measured. Ron grimaced and stood up, then   
padded over in his sock feet to open the door. Lucius swooped in, kicking the door shut   
behind him and pinning Ron up against a wall. Ron gasped for breath as Lucius' lips   
descended on his, hot and salty, and he felt a roving hand un-tucking his shirt and   
slipping up into places that it had no right to be. He felt, for all intents and purposes, like   
he was going to swoon.  
  
Well, now he knew where Draco had picked up those oh-so-skillful lips. "Wait a   
minute! Why am I so distractible?!" Ron wanted to scream. This was Bad, Very Very   
Bad. And he had thought that dealing with the attentions of Draco was going to be bad   
enough. Look at the mess he was in now. At least this time he could put up a struggle   
and not just act like everything was ok. Good kissers aside, Ron Weasley necking with   
members of the Malfoy family, male members to boot, was NOT OK.   
  
In a rising panic Ron struggled blindly against the tall, velvet clad figure that was   
pressing him insistently into the hard stone wall of the guest bedroom. Unfortunately,   
Lucius Malfoy was quite strong. Fortunately, some measure of luck was still with him.   
  
"Lucius, stop that at once!" an icy voice commanded. Ron practically leapt out of   
Lucius's grasp as the weight pressing against him eased. Trying to tug his clothes back   
into some semblance of order, Ron looked up so see a tall pale woman sneering at him   
from the doorway. She was dressed in a sleek black velvet robe that clung suggestively   
to certain portions of her anatomy while still managing to make her look extremely   
proper. She glared hatefully at her husband as he slipped from the room with an oily "I'll   
see you later my dear," whispered into Ron's ear.   
  
Narcissa Malfoy stared at him coldly, looking him up and down, clearly disapproving of   
what she saw. "I'll inform Draco that you'll be a bit late to lunch," she sneered.   
"Wouldn't want to be less that presentable in front of Draco's guests." And with that she   
turned and stalked from the room.   
  
As soon as she was gone, Ron quickly moved to shut the door and then collapsed on the   
large four-poster bed. He felt about ready to cry. "Pull yourself together, Ron," he said   
to himself gruffly. "You didn't think that infiltrating the enemy territory was going to be   
easy, did you?   
  
"Still," he thought to himself, "despite the fact that I'm dealing with Malfoys, events are   
proceeding rather far from expected." Ron then hurried to change into something   
hopefully more suitable, though lord knows he had not an ounce of fashion sense. His   
thoughts were so jumbled that he almost didn't notice the luscious body he was dressing   
and undressing and he his thoughts were on the immediate "please don't let me get lost in   
this horrible place" as he hurried from the room.   
  
Ron was relieved when he found the lunch party outside and even more relieved to see   
that Draco was completely absorbed in regaling his guests with stories of his own might   
and seemed to have little attention for his girlfriend. He was so relieved in fact that he   
almost forgot to sneer inwardly at Draco's posturing and as soon as lunch was over -- no,   
he definitely did not want to think about what it was he had eaten -- he slipped back up to   
his room to hide out until dinner.   
  
He entertained brief thoughts of snooping around the mansion in hopes of locating the   
council room but was brought up short by the sight of Lucius standing in the hallway.   
With a startled squeak Ron turned and fled back to his room, taking care to lock the door   
securely behind him, not that he felt it would really do any good.   
  
Alone in his room, Ron found that he had nothing better to do than unpack. He knew that   
it was ridiculous and since he only had a few days he should be more productive, hanging   
on Draco to show him around the place or something but he just didn't feel like he was   
ready to face any of the Malfoy clan just now. Ron found that, as a girl, he had terribly   
weak nerves. At least, that's how he phrased it to himself.   
  
As he was unpacking Ron finally came to the magical amplifier that he had tucked away   
in the bottom of a suitcase and realized that he was going to have to find a good place to   
hide it until he could install it in the council room. He was thinking about how he might   
be able to some how fasten it to the underside of the bed when another one of those   
terrible realizations struck. The realization had two parts.   
  
A) The male members of the Malfoy family apparently found, and it was patently true   
that, the body of Blaise Zabini was excruciatingly attractive and would most likely take   
every opportunity presented to capitalize on its ripe lushness. (Here Ron had to pause   
and get a grip on his thoughts which were blatantly displaying their recent tendency to   
wander into embarrassing topics.)   
  
B) Harry and Hermione could be terrible snoops and here was a device that was going to   
let them listen in on everything that happened in its immediate vicinity. The plan had   
been to get the magical amplifier safely into place and then, once Ron was back, invoke   
the spell that would make it active when none of them were in a place to cast suspicion if   
any magical after-effects were to be felt. Ron, however, did not trust the other two to   
wait for him. They were his friends but Ron was sure they did not consider listening in   
on his activities in this "covert operation" to be out of bounds.   
  
These two facts led to one very specific conclusion. Ron must hide the magical amplifier   
in a safe place and (and this was the important part) make sure that it was as well muffled   
as he could possibly make it. He was just beginning to search for a suitable place when   
he heard and knock on the door. Ron frantically stuffed the device under as many clothes   
as he could in his drawer before hurrying to open the door, his heart pounding. What   
next?   
  
Draco waited on the other side of the door, oozing confidence, an attitude that Ron   
instantly resented. Upon seeing his girlfriend the hint of a smile flickered across Draco's   
face. "Crabbe and Goyle have finally gone and I realized that you haven't been here   
before. I should show you around."   
  
Ron's perfect pouty mouth fell open at the sight of Draco actually being considerate.   
Draco smiled and reached out a slender, perfect (shut up, brain!) hand, drawing his   
fingers along Ron's jaw, which Ron then brought up with an audible click of the teeth.   
  
"Don't worry dear, I haven't forgotten you," Draco said before leaning in and leaning in   
and gently brushing his lips against Ron's own. Ron felt like freezing and melting at the   
same time, his body warring with his mind over how to react. He was, therefore, glad   
when Draco turned and offered his arm with a curt "Shall we go?" before leading him off   
down the dark, and rather macabre, hallway. 


	5. …We meet the world’s foremost expert of ...

5. …we meet the world's best and foremost expert of avoiding   
mirrors   
  
Ron sat at the table feeling terribly relieved. By some stroke of the bizarre Draco had   
turned out to be an excellent tour guide with a great attention to detail, informing Ron   
exactly where they were and what rooms were which (and this had included the council   
room). Ron now had all the information he needed to carry out the plan and then he   
could worry about making it through the next day or so and getting HOME.   
  
His relief fled, however, as Lucius sat down at the head of the table. He couldn't help   
remembering the warm velvety length pressing him against the wall and the measured   
gazes he kept catching out the corner of his eye weren't helping. In desperation Ron   
found himself looking imploringly to Draco for support and was surprised to find it.   
From the dark looks Draco was shooting at his father, the two operated under uneasy   
terms.   
  
After dinner Ron fled to his rooms. He found himself doing this a lot but flight and   
regroup seemed to be good tactics. He figured he wait until about three o'clock in the   
morning before sneaking down and planting the magical amplifier. Since it was only ten   
o'clock now Ron figured he might as well lie down for a spell and get some rest.   
  
He considered lying down fully clothed to avoid sight of the ripe body he was currently   
inhabiting and the thoughts it inevitably led to but considering the Malfoy habit of   
showing up unexpectedly he decided he shouldn't risk it for the suspicion it might raise.   
He searched around for a nightgown and wished he hadn't when he found it. It was a   
lacy negligee that Ron was sure was designed to hide as little of the female figure as   
possible. Ron decided that he was soon to become the world's best and foremost expert   
of avoiding mirrors to be seen in several centuries. Not that even that would help much.   
  
Ron kept his eyes squeezed tightly shut through as much of the changing proceedings as   
possible. He had a nasty, fluttery turn when the blouse buttons refused to cooperate but   
finally he made it into the negligee without personal injury. He then stretched himself   
out stiffly on the big four-poster bed, willing himself to sleep for just a little bit anyway   
but knowing full well that all attempts were pretty well doomed at the onset.   
  
About an hour later Ron still lay there, staring up at the ceiling, growing tenser by the   
minute. At this point he was seriously questioning his choice to come on this mission   
and desperately wanting some way to call it all off. He startled then when a hand settled   
firmly on his wrist, having been too absorbed in the drama playing in his head to have   
heard someone come into the room.   
  
Attempting to sit up, Ron inadvertently slammed his lips quite solidly into those of Draco   
Malfoy. Obviously taking this as a sign of eager cooperation, Draco grabbed his   
girlfriend securely by the back of the head and proceeded to kiss her quite passionately.   
His tongue probed at Ron's lips, already slack from what must have been shock so that   
Ron felt its hot tip darting just inside his mouth.   
  
At this point the battle between body and brain became too much for Ron and he broke   
into hysterics. With a sob he broke from Draco's embrace and turned to weep into his   
pillow. Internally berating himself for being the worst sissy wimp loser he could possibly   
imagine, he desperately tried to collect himself. Crying in front of the enemy is NOT AN   
OPTION WEASLEY! It did not help that Draco's still hot hand was rubbing his   
shoulder and back.   
  
"What's wrong, Blaise?" Draco queried. "You've been acting strange all day. Is   
something the matter?"   
  
Desperately hunting for a response in the chaos of his mind, Ron seized on a piece of   
truth that just might be able to explain some of his bizarre behavior. Fighting to collect   
himself, he turned his tearstained face to Draco and whispered, "He came to my room   
when you were at lunch. He…..he kissed me." The thought of that other encounter bore   
down on him and he felt his eyes once more begin to fill.   
  
Damn it! Why did the Malfoys have to be such good kissers?! And why did he have to   
be not allowed to enjoy it? "I wonder what it would feel like in my own body?" skittered   
guiltily across Ron's mind. "SHUT UP! JUST SHUT UP!" he told himself and   
whimpered, his tears almost exhausted. Still, relieving some of the tension made him feel   
a bit better already. A tiny bit. It was hard being a girl. Ron swore then and there never to   
antagonize Ginny and Hermione again or tell them that they were being "batty females."  
  
Draco cursed. "Son of a bitch," he muttered, glaring at nothing in particular. "I hate him   
so much. I'm sorry he bothered you." With surprising tenderness, he cupped the side of   
Ron's face in one hand, tracing his lips with one finger. "Promise me that you'll stay   
away from him. It's the only way. He's never been able to control himself."  
  
"I…" Ron couldn't remember the rest of what he intended to say. Strange sensations   
were running rampant in his body. He sighed pathetically. Draco interpreted this correctly   
and once again seized Ron's lips with his own, gently coaxing the nightgown from Ron's   
shoulders. Pressing feather-light kisses along Ron's collarbone, he somehow whisked the   
rest of garment off with a finesse that Ron had to admire even under the current   
circumstances. Ron threw back his head, feeling like his brain was misfiring and the big   
"WARNING! STOP, FOOL!" sign that should have been going off was horribly delayed.   
Then…  
  
"Ah, what the hell," he thought. Whether it was the day's stress or fear from Harry – or   
simply physical arousal – he wasn't sure. All he knew is that one of his hands was   
slipping up under Draco's shirt and the other was slowly inching down the front of   
Draco's pants. Draco's breath caught, then he grinned wickedly, his hands in places that   
Ron only wished his hands had been.  
  
And Ron gave himself up to the hopelessness of the situation.  
  
  
  
When Ron next awoke it was to a cozy darkness. For a while he luxuriated in the   
comfort of the bed and blankets, in the warmth of the body tucked securely next to his   
own. His mind drifted lazily, circling around nothings the way a mind often does that is   
half asleep. Eventually he got around to trying to figure out what it was that had woken   
him and here his body stilled.   
  
The magical amplifier. Stupid. STUPID! He had forgotten all about it what   
with……anyway. Pushing thoughts of morality aside Ron tried to concentrate on what to   
do about that stupid amplifier thingy. If it wasn't too far into morning there was still a   
chance that he could sneak it into the council room, but what bloody time was it?   
  
It was at this point that Ron fortuitously became aware of an extremely creepy clock. It   
was quite odd that he hadn't noticed it earlier because he could see it quite clearly from   
where he lay on the bed, a tall grandfather clock with black scrollwork and a ghostly pale,   
though dusty, face upon which two skeletally thin and tortured looking creatures lay   
stretched, pointing out the time. It was four o'clock.   
  
Ok, so it was still enough the dead of night to carry out his errand. Now, one or two   
more things to deal with. Draco was sleeping on his hand. This one had Ron stumped   
for a while. From the even steadiness of the breaths that brushed his cheek, Draco was   
fairly deeply asleep and any tip-toeing around that Ron needed to do probably wouldn't   
wake him, but shifting him to free his hand probably would. The answer, when it came,   
was almost elegant in its simplicity.   
  
Leaning into the sweet breath of his lover (no, now's not the time to think about that) Ron   
nuzzled his ear. "I have to go to the bathroom, honey," he murmured. It was creepy how   
easily that rolled off his tongue Ron thought as he gently eased his hand from under the   
sleeping beauty (no, no not now!).   
  
Once out of bed he rummaged around in his drawer for the magical amplifier. Locating a   
silky robe he tugged it on over his nightgown, which had somehow ended up back on   
him, a fact for which he was rather grateful. He was doing his best to concentrate but   
certain other thoughts kept wriggling into his mind, distracting him. He deliberately left   
off his slippers, hoping the cold of the bare stone floors would work to keep him alert. 


	6. …Ron engages in an act of Perverse Rebel...

Author's Note: Thank you to the people who have reviewed this   
story! I truly appreciate you taking the time to let me know what   
you think.  
  
6. …Ron engages in an act of perverse rebellion  
  
The corridor outside the room was lit by torches set at intervals along the walls, burning a   
sickly yellow that only narrowly escaped the label of green. The effect was to make   
everything look distorted and ghostly, not at all like the cheery Gryffindor common room   
that Ron was presently very much missing.   
  
As he crept down the hallway towards the stairs, Ron pictured himself playing wizard   
chess with Harry. Hermione would be at one of the tables, her brow furrowed in   
concentration over some dusty old volume or other. Thinking of those two put him in   
mind of his earlier suspicions and he started muttering under his breath, his fingers   
rubbing absently at the device tucked in his pocket. "If you guys are listening in this late   
at night that's really pathetic you know. There are better things you could be doing with   
your time. Sleeping is definitely better. I sure wish I were in bed right now." Ron   
paused for a moment as his mind trailed off and he nearly tripped at the head of the   
stairs. Now thoroughly annoyed, Ron continued his monologue. "And that's enough   
sarcasm out of you Harry. Don't think I don't know what you're thinking. If I hear so   
much as a peep out of you when I get back I'll make you wear those shoes. See how you   
like that." Ron persisted in this vein until he came upon the doors of the council room at   
which point it came into his brain that perhaps he should try being furtive.   
  
Putting an ear to one massive, ebony door, Ron listened for the sound of any secret   
meetings being conducted. After all, despite the fact that a normal seeming business type   
meeting would go less remarked than some clandestine night meeting, who knew with   
Death Eaters. Maybe they preferred the symbolic nature of a meeting at night. Though,   
if that were the case then midnight would probably be preferable to four in the morning,   
unless of course it was a particularly long meeting. Ron's mind was wandering again.   
  
Hearing nothing, Ron quietly pushed open the door, peering through the crack before   
slipping inside. He had expected the room inside to be dark, since it was apparently not   
in use. However, the same eerie torches that illuminated the hallways glowed in here as   
well, their pale flames dancing. The effect was like tortured souls writhing in hell. Ron   
was sure it was deliberate.   
  
Quickly, Ron surveyed the room for what might be a suitable hiding place. Hermione   
had found a spell in one of her moth eaten tomes that should work to make the magical   
amplifier stick to whatever surface he chose so that wasn't a problem. As long as he   
could remember it, anyway. Hermione had made him practice it several times and with   
several different items before she'd let him be about it. He was pretty sure he knew it but   
Ron never did put much store in his memory.   
  
Stalking stealthily around the room, Ron finally decided that the best place would   
probably be somewhere under the long council table, as long as he could keep it from   
being readily noticed by idle fingers. Crawling beneath the table he found that the legs   
attached in a row down the center by a sort of knotted, filigreed fretwork. The device   
was quite small and if Ron could place it right then it shouldn't seem more than just   
another insignificant bump. Even so, Ron placed it near the center, as far out of reach as   
possible and muttered the spell under his breath. He was rather surprised when it worked   
but covered that with pleasure at having done something right. Now just to sneak back   
up and slip into bed.   
  
Of course, it seemed that nothing was ever going to go completely right. After carefully   
closing the council room door behind him, Ron had gotten perhaps ten yards down the   
hall when Lucius Malfoy rounded the corner. As soon as Ron saw him he started and   
then stood frozen in place.   
  
"Oh, I'm sorry to startled you, dear," Lucius purred, his gaze fixed intently on his victim,   
false concern etching his brow. "But whatever are you doing up so late?"   
  
Ron stammered a bit before he got the hang of lying again and remembered that the   
council rooms were located conveniently near the kitchen. "I….I was hungry and   
thought that I might come down for a snack," he stammered arms waving and pointing   
vaguely back the way he had come.   
  
"And did you find everything you needed?" Lucius was now directly in front at him,   
staring down at him with such a fixed and predatory gaze that Ron resisted the urge to   
shrink back. Any sign of weakness and the man would be on him like a hawk swooping   
down on a dove and goodness new Ron was in no state to deal with such attentions right   
now. One Malfoy was enough for one night. Ron was learning that when it came to   
some things he had a very weak will and he was loath to test it any further.   
  
"Yes, just fine thank you." Ron lowed his eyes and moved to step past the man looming   
in front of him, formidable even in the dark dressing gown he apparently wore to bed.   
Ron was surprised when he got by unscathed and did his best to hurry nonchalantly down   
the hallway. Lucius stood immobile behind him refraining from further comment until   
Ron reached the next turn at which a silky, "Goodnight, dear," floated past.   
  
When he reached the stairs Ron took them two at a time, despite the impediment of his   
long nightgown. Once in his room he threw off his robe and hurried to climb into bed,   
snuggling next to the figure that lay there slumbering. Right now he didn't care that the   
body next to his belonged to a long time school enemy. It was warm and comforting and   
the contours of Ron's borrowed body fit perfectly along its length. In an act of perverse   
rebellion he didn't bother to justify, Ron reached across and pulled Draco's hand over to   
rest on his breast, surprised by the pleasure the slight weight gave. Feeling far more   
content then he knew he should, Ron drifted off to sleep. 


	7. …We play Wizard’s Monopoly, the Death Ea...

7. …we play Wizard's Monopoly, the Death Eater Version  
  
Harry and Hermione sat on Hermione's bed, utterly bewildered. Hermione had her own   
bedroom now that she was Head Girl, and the real Blaise was stuffed in her closet, still in   
a catatonic state. They had heard every word that Ron whispered into the amplifier,   
which made no sense, because neither of them had cast the spell to activate it.   
  
"I don't understand," Hermione said vehemently. "It makes absolutely no sense!"  
  
Harry, thumbing through the copy of "Magical Eavesdropping For Fun and Profit" that   
they had borrowed from the Library's Restricted Section, shook his head. "I swear we   
cast the spell right." He looked suspiciously at the companion amplifier, one of a pair of   
silvers earring that they had enchanted. It was silent, hopefully because it was picking up   
no sound from the Council Room and not because Lucius had seen Ron talking into his   
hand and had thrown him (her) into the dungeon.  
  
"Oh…no." Harry muttered. "Here it is. We screwed up." He pried apart two pages that   
were stuck together with what appeared to be strawberry jam. The next page contained   
notes about the Magical Amplifier spell, an illustration of a young witch with her ear   
pressed up against an enchanted cabbage, and the following text:  
  
"Warning! Precious metals may disrupt the flow of magic between the amplifiers. Avoid   
using objects made of gold, silver, platinum, or bronze. Dragon scales and glass objects   
are likely to explode under the effects of this spell. Use with caution!"  
  
"Shit," Harry swore.  
  
  
  
  
Saturday mornings at the Malfoy house were, apparently, Monopoly time. Ron had   
woken to find Draco gone, and found him a half hour later in the dining room,   
impeccably dressed. Ron nervously smoothed the strappy yellow dress that he had chosen   
– Blaise didn't seem to believe in jeans, or in underwear that wasn't a thong -- and sat   
down to breakfast with Draco and the rest of the Malfoy clan. There was one tense   
moment when Narcissa dropped her fork after hearing Ron belch, but the rest of the meal   
was rather uneventful.  
  
That is, until the butler rolled out a silver cart upon which was placed a Monopoly board   
and several stacks of fake money. Ron was confused. Somehow, in all his imaginings of   
what Draco's family life must be like, he had never dreamed that they sat around on   
Saturday mornings and played Wizard's Monopoly: The Death Eater Version.  
  
Lucius gleefully distributed the "money," then conjured the playing pieces with a wave of   
his hand. Ron almost rolled his eyes when he saw that Lucius' was a small version of   
Lucius himself, complete with cape and silver walking stick, which it was now swinging   
around dangerously while cackling evilly. Narcissa's playing piece, a small, delicate   
white horse, was stomping its hooves and tossing its head around in agitation. Draco's   
piece was a small silver dragon that breathed green fire and an occasional hairball. Draco   
glared at it and muttered something about mice. Ron looked down to see what he was to   
play with and groaned when he realized that it was a topless mermaid who was currently   
engaged in brushing her long, blonde hair. She winked at him. Ron looked pleadingly at   
Draco, who also winked at him.  
  
The play began. Lucius bought the first property he landed on, which happened to be   
Knockturn Alley. At this, the mini-Lucius launched into a victory dance, jumping around   
and clicking his heels together.  
  
Narcissa landed on Chance and drew a card. She read it primly: "Voldemort returns to   
power and wreaks havoc in a Muggle village. Collect 50 galleons." Her horse turned   
towards mini-Lucius and stuck its tongue out.  
  
Draco landed on Chance as well. "Go directly to Azkaban. Do not pass Go. Do not   
collect 200 Galleons." He grimaced as a cage appeared out of nowhere and tiny   
Dementors herded his dragon into it. The cage disappeared in a cloud of green smoke.   
"Bloody card!" Draco exclaimed and threw it down, sulking.  
  
Ron reached for the dice and rolled them. His mermaid jumped into the board, the surface   
rippling as if it were water. She surfaced the appropriate six places ahead. Ron peered at   
the property: The Slytherin Dungeon. The picture showed the Slytherin Common Room,   
full of cheering Slytherins holding aloft the House and Quidditch Cups.  
  
"I'll buy it!" Ron said decisively, counting out the appropriate amount of money. He slid   
it over to Lucius.  
  
"Oh, dear," Lucius drawled. "It seems I've just gained myself a property."  
"What?!" Ron shrieked.  
"It's true," Draco said sadly. "You didn't sing the Slytherin Sonnet before you gave him   
the money, so he gets the property by default. Death Eater rules."  
  
Ron's ears turned red. This was War.  
  
  
  
  
Severus Snape, Hogwarts Potion Master, was hard at work on one of his latest projects.   
Dumbledore had asked him to stay on over the Holidays to brew a number of   
complicated potions for the Ministry of Magic, and Snape was only too happy to comply.   
They needed a large quantity of Veritaserum as well as many dangerous or illegal potions   
that few people besides him had the skill and knowledge to make. He reached into the   
cabinet and felt his fingers close around empty space where the kappa venom should be.   
It was gone.  
  
"Prior Revealus," he said softly, and saw the closet as it had been days ago. He saw Harry   
Potter and Hermione Granger tiptoe in under an invisibility cloak that he could see   
through thanks to the security charm he had placed on the room after a third-year   
Slytherin had taken all of his mountain goat toenails and put them in Professor   
Trelawney's teapot (he had appreciated the idea, but he did get really peeved when   
people took his ingredients). The phantom Harry and Hermione shoved several bottles in   
their pockets and hurried away, blinking out of sight. Severus felt rage building in the pit   
of his stomach.  
  
"Potter…" he said quietly, like a promise. 


	8. …Draco and Ron hamper each other terribl...

8. …Draco and Ron hamper each other terribly by Extreme   
Proximity  
  
  
"Hah! Hah, hah, hah, hah. I now own a full three quarters of Diagon Alley. Try to avoid   
me now you old hoarder," Ron crowed, having just acquired a very strategically placed   
Ollivander's.   
  
"Yet I hold the key to Gringott's Bank. Whatever shall you do?" Lucius had long since   
perfected the sneer of "I'm better than you are and you know it" and it dripped from his   
voice as he dangled the duce property he had acquired early in the game and used to a   
ruthless advantage.   
  
Ron snarled and slouched back into his chair. Once he had started to get a hang of the   
rules, the game had become less and less a quiet family weekend amusement and more   
and more an out and out war between Ron and Lucius, both determined to conquer.   
Narcissa's gains had dwindled early on and she had quit after about an hour, feigning   
boredom. Draco had managed to acquire Hogwarts but it was obvious, three hours into   
the game, that he had minor player status. He was looking a bit droopy in his place across   
the dining table from Ron when he wasn't being bitchy and making sarcastic comments,   
which the other two completely ignored. In war, it was the focus that mattered.   
  
Apparently Draco reached his limit after being virtually ignored and beaten conclusively   
for the past couple of hours. He made a sort of screeching sound and stood up abruptly,   
causing his chair to topple over in comedic slow motion. He moved swiftly around to the   
other side of the table, placing his hands on Ron's shoulders and squeezing perhaps a   
fraction more than was necessary.   
  
"Don't you think the game has lasted long enough? How about you two call it a tie and I   
can take you down to the swamp and show you my pet water dragon." His hand   
wandered down to Ron's thigh and his fingers started toying with the dress, suggesting a   
few other things he'd like to show him.   
  
"Not now, Draco. I'm trying to concentrate." Ron absently slapped Draco's hand away   
and watched intently as the tiny Lucius on the board began its determined move ten   
spaces forward. Draco turned and stalked from the room, muttering something   
unintelligible as Lucius bought Flourish and Blotts.   
  
  
  
"But she's petrified. People don't change who are petrified."   
  
"But she needs nutrients. Think of all the trouble people go to to keep coma patients   
alive."   
  
"But she's not a coma patient. Look at her. She's fine." Harry pulled open Hermione's   
closet and pointed at Blaise who silently gasped at them from between Hermione's coats.   
"You're just paranoid because of the way we messed up on the listening device. You're   
inventing problems Hermione. Besides, how could we feed her without waking her up?   
Have you figured out that one?"   
  
Meanwhile, Professor Severus Snape was stalking down the corridor toward the   
Gryffindor tower with an evil glint in his eye and a firm set to his shoulder that had   
students guiltily ducking into side rooms.   
  
"We should at least make sure that she's alright!" Hermione was trying to wrestle the   
hard slab of well-toned Slytherin babe out of her closet while Harry did his utmost to   
hinder her. Slipping and making a dramatically slow drop to the ground, Blaise hit the   
floor with a loud thud at the same moment a measured, thundering knock sounded at   
Hermione's door. "Quick, get her under the bed." The two struggled frantically to hide   
the inert body before the door swung menacingly inward.   
  
  
  
"How about this? I'll let you have that last property and you can win if you give me a   
kiss from those beautiful, cherry red lips of yours." Lucius smiled evilly across the table   
at Ron who was scowling furiously.   
  
"How dare you suggest such a thing?!" Ron screeched, knowing full well that he had lost   
and pissed as all hell about it. "I've had enough of this." He pushed back his chair and   
flounced from the room, making it several yards down the hallway before realizing what   
he was doing and changing it into an angry stalk. It was now confirmed. Lucius Malfoy   
was the spawn of the devil and Ron Weasley would find a way to make him pay if it took   
three hundred lifetimes.   
  
"He won, didn't he?" Ron was so mad he just about punched Draco who had   
materialized in one of the side doorways.   
  
"Yes, the bloody bastard won and then rubbed it in my face." Ron got this far before   
trailing off into strangled gibberish.   
  
"Yes, he always wins. I probably should have warned you but I didn't know you would   
get that competitive." Draco was rubbing Ron's shoulder in an obvious attempt to calm   
him, which was strangely close to working. "And I had such a lovely morning planned."   
Draco pouted and Ron felt a tiny fraction of his anger cool at the sight of his soft lips so   
effectively displayed.   
  
Ron was on the edge of saying something in apology for so thoroughly ignoring Draco   
for the entire morning, guessing that girlfriends probably didn't go to spend time with   
their boyfriends and wind up ignoring him to play chess with his father. However, the   
moment their eyes locked, Ron's stomach gave a very loud and prolonged gurgle.   
  
"I guess five hours of monopoly works up an appetite, huh?" Draco smiled, taking Ron   
around the waist and leading him down the hall to the kitchen. Once there it became   
apparent that the cook was taking some kind of break and nowhere to be seen. Draco was   
just raising one impatient and imperious hand to ring the bell when Ron stopped him.   
  
"It's ok. I'll just make some sandwiches. The stuff shouldn't be too hard to find."   
Draco looked baffled but made no protest as Ron started rummaging through the   
cupboards. It wasn't long before the sandwiches were made. One for Draco (who had   
decided to see whether it was possible to produce edible food for oneself), two for Ron   
and one more just in case.   
  
"How about we take these upstairs?" Draco smiled wickedly and licked a wayward fleck   
of mustard off of the tip of Ron's nose. Ron bit his lip, debating. On the one hand, he   
had already accomplished his mission and it no longer really mattered what he did as   
long as he eventually made it back to Hogwarts. He had already strayed down this path.   
What could one more encounter with those supple lips and agile hands really do to him?   
On the other hand was the fact that he was famished. But the sandwiches would be   
coming with, so it was all good.   
  
The sandwiches were stacked on a plate and the pair began unsteadily wending their way   
toward the stairs, hampering each other terribly by extreme proximity. Ron was much   
closer to giggling than he was sure he had ever been since he was two. Details would   
definitely NOT be forthcoming if Harry and Hermione asked him what he had done   
during his stay at Malfoy Manor. He had a feeling that even mentioning the Monopoly,   
which should have been great for a laugh, would be terribly damning. That was the   
problem. He was investing too many emotions into all of this.   
  
And Draco's hand was much too far up his skirt. If he didn't concentrate, Ron was going   
to drop the plate of sandwiches. But then Draco had him pressed up against one of the   
many doors lining the hallway and the sandwiches were beginning to slide. Attention   
equally divided between the perilously perched lunch and Draco's lips, which were   
beginning to travel down his neck, Ron nearly missed the sound of footsteps advancing   
and certainly soon to round the corner.   
  
Draco heard it in time though and quickly opened the door so that Ron practically fell   
into the room behind. Draco quickly and silently shut the door, and they listened with   
held breath as the footsteps passed by without falter. Ron sighed. From the sound of the   
tread it must have been Lucius and that was certainly the last person Ron wanted to see at   
the moment.   
  
"Well, this should do for our 'lunch'," Draco practically cackled behind him. Ron turned   
and froze. It was, of course, the council room.   
  
"Nononononono, not in here," Ron pleaded trying to think of a good excuse. "What if   
your dad walks in?"   
  
"Oh, he won't." Draco was practically purring. "It's a Saturday. He never has meetings   
on Saturdays."   
  
"But but but…" Ron couldn't think of any more excuses and Draco was industriously   
piling chair cushions in a heap on the floor. Ron slumped into a chair, giving in to the   
inevitable. After all, Harry and Hermione might have left the amplifier off anyway. And   
besides, if they heard anything weird and mentioned it he could always deny it. Ron   
began to reflect on the strong power of denial. It wasn't as though he and Draco were the   
only two people in the house. As consolation, Ron started munching on one of his   
sandwiches. It was actually pretty good.   
  
"Why don't you come down here to eat those?" Draco had apparently finished   
redecorating. Thinking of no reason not to, Ron picked up the plate of sandwiches and   
plopped down on the floor, leaning back against a stack of chair cushions.   
  
Looking up and seeing Draco staring at him intently, he managed to speak around a wad   
of turkey and lettuce. "Aren't you going to eat yours?"   
  
"As a matter of fact I was just thinking about that." Draco reached out and gently   
straightened out Ron's legs, removing the high-heeled shoes as he went. He then lightly   
picked up a sandwich from atop the stack and discarded the top half of bread. With a   
curling smile he gently draped a piece of turkey over Ron's ankle. 


	9. …Something is wrong with Miss Granger

9. …something is wrong with Miss Granger   
  
Snape flowed like a dark wave into the room and slammed the door shut behind him.  
"Just what do you think you were doing sneaking into my laboratory and stealing rare   
ingredients?" Snape's voice was booming. "Those are not toys I keep locked in that   
cupboard."   
  
Upon his entry the two students had risen from their place on the floor and backed up   
until they ran into Hermione's closet like two magnets repelled by their opposite charge.   
  
Snape's fingers had come together in that gesture of menace known throughout Hogwarts   
and he was just now taking in his surroundings. "And what, dare I ask, were you two   
doing on the floor when I came in?"   
  
Catching the glint of metal, Hermione spoke quickly. "We were just looking for my   
earring. Oh, there it is." And she bent down and scooped up the enchanted earring,   
hurrying to attach it to her ear.   
  
"Nononononono not in here." This was emitted, rather quietly, from the earring just as   
she was bringing it up to her head. Hermione started and just about dropped it, thinking   
for a moment that the earring had come to life and was dreading her proximity before   
realizing that it had picked up something from the council room at Malfoy Manor.   
  
"Something wrong miss Granger?"   
  
"No, no. It pricked me, that's all." The earring had once again gone silent and Hermione   
puzzled over the possible causes, while Harry gave her a strange look. Snape continued   
his tirade.   
  
"Do you two even have any idea how to properly handle kappa venom? Miss Granger, I   
know you think that you are extensively read, but it has taken me years of study to be   
able to safely handle ingredients like these. How can irresponsible behavior like this be   
tolerated at this school!?"   
  
Harry was staring defiantly at Snape, like the idiot he always was. Hermione was biting   
her lip and looking guiltily down at her shoes. And that was when it happened. She   
could hear the earring sort of crackling at her ear before bursting out with "…eat yours?"   
at full volume.   
  
Snape turned white with rage. "Just what are you suggesting Miss Granger?"   
  
"I…..I" Hermione couldn't think of any good reply, considering the circumstances.   
Fortunately Harry had picked up on what was going on.   
  
"She's just been a little confused lately, Sir. I think she must have read about twenty   
books in the last couple of days and she's having trouble retaining it all. You should hear   
some of the stuff she's been babbling."   
  
"Oh, I see." Snape sat down on the bed, arms crossed, and unknowingly ground Blaise's   
pinky under his heel. "Well this is even worse, isn't it? Don't think I don't know that   
Miss Granger is the brains of your operation. This calls for some very serious   
punishments. But first I think we should get your partner in crime in here. No sense in   
repeating myself. Where is Mr. Weasley?"   
  
"Oh, he had nothing to do with it." Hermione was talking too fast. "He..he hasn't been   
feeling well and..and.." She trailed off and then burst out laughing as, "It's time for the   
tomato," was whispered silkily in her ear.   
  
"You see what I mean, Sir?" Harry was trying to play up the lie. "She's gotten a bit   
unstable."   
  
"Oh, enough of this nonsense." Snape was looking increasingly perturbed. "Psychosis   
Claritarus," and Hermione immediately shut up, her mind having gone icy clear. "I'll   
deal with Mr. Weasley later. The first thing you two shall be doing is helping me build   
up a full stock of kappa venom. Mr. Potter shall assist me in hunting down a few nice,   
deadly kappa and you, Miss Granger, will help me distill the venom from the various   
glands."   
  
"Eewwww," Hermione was only glad the earring had made a comment that fit into the   
conversation this time.   
  
"And for that I shall be extra nice and let you prepare the carcasses for tanning when we   
are through." Hermione sighed and nodded, her perfect-student brain admitting that the   
punishment was, unfortunately, fair. "Now, which one of you wants to tell me what,   
exactly, you were planning on doing with your stolen ingredients?"   
  
Harry and Hermione stood frozen, minds locked on what to say. Hermione started   
grinding her teeth, having caught another fragment from the earring. This time it was,   
"…mustard everywhere!" and despite the gravity of the situation, she was having a great   
deal of trouble keeping a straight face. "Harry, could you put this on the table, please?   
It's giving me a headache." That thing was just far too distracting.   
  
"No more stalling, you two. Speak now or I'll be forced to use this truth serum I brewed   
up just for the occasion." From the glint in his eye, it was obvious that Snape wanted   
nothing more than a chance to use that serum.   
  
  
  
"I am such a slut." Ron pondered this, realizing as he did that he didn't feel nearly as bad   
about it as he should. His conscience, it would seem, had gone on an extended holiday.   
Besides, when someone starts licking mustard off of then inside of your thigh, it becomes   
instantly more difficult to concentrate. And when tomatoes were placed on certain other   
parts of the anatomy…okay, it sounded weird, but was really quite enjoyable. If he ever   
got a girlfriend, he would definitely have to explore the fun of playing with sandwich   
fixings. And maybe Italian food. He had a sudden, disturbing mental image of Hermione   
with a large meatball on her head and shuddered.  
  
"What is it?" Draco had gotten dressed again and his clothes were miraculously free of   
wrinkles. Somehow this infuriated Ron and a hint of his old animosity resurfaced.   
  
"Nothing!" Ron said sharply and, picking up his shoes, stalked out of the room. What   
was wrong with him? This was Draco. He hated Draco! Ron suddenly thought of the   
memory spell he would have to perform on Blaise so that she "remembered" everything   
that happened this weekend. After all, Draco might bring up the sandwich encounter in   
casual conversation. You just never knew.  
  
Ron was glad that Draco didn't follow him. He headed up to his bedroom, wanting   
nothing more than to change out of this ridiculous dress and take a nap. Alone. He felt   
tired and wrung out and like he needed a bath. Actually, that was a fabulous idea. He   
changed courses to the guest bathroom on the second floor. A silent figure watched him   
go and chuckled, twirling his walking stick menacingly. 


	10. …Baths are taken, and Forbidden Swamps o...

10. …baths are taken, and Forbidden Swamps of Death visited  
  
Hermione had just finished telling Snape a very implausible story about wanting to use   
kappa venom to dissolve Ron's socks as a joke. Harry gawked at her, silently admiring   
her lying skills and yet wondering why she couldn't have come up with a better story.  
  
"And the essence of Brimstone?" Snape said quietly, raising one perfectly shaped   
eyebrow.  
  
"We were going to…make his shoes explode?" Hermione offered weakly. "Ron is…"  
  
"…such a slut" the earring finished.  
  
Snape's eyes literally bugged out. "On second thought," he spat and stalked across the   
room, folding his cloak and arms close to his body. "I don't even want to know. I'm   
taking 100 points from Gryffindor. You will carry out your punishments tomorrow. You   
should just be glad that I have an emergency store of Brimstone, or the two of you would   
be trekking across Britain in search of active volcanoes right now!" He stomped out of   
the room, slamming the door behind him. Hermione and Harry sighed with relief. All   
things considered, it could have been much worse. The door banged open again and they   
jumped. Snape poked his head in and yelled one more sentence: "And clean up this   
room!!!!!!!" He slammed the door one more time, loudly.  
  
Hermione groaned and slid to the floor. Harry picked up the earring and examined it   
suspiciously. He held it to his ear and could faintly hear somebody muttering something   
that sounded like "girls…don't understand them…provolone cheese…no sense of   
gratitude…." Harry tried to fathom what could be going on in the council room of Malfoy   
Manor that involved gratitude and provolone cheese.  
  
"Hermione," he began, "what are we going to do?"  
  
"Well," she answered, "the way I see it, very little. We listen until we figure out what the   
Malfoys are up to, and then we destroy the earring like we planned. Hopefully the other   
one will be destroyed as well, unless we screwed up that part, too." She wrinkled her   
nose in concentration.  
  
Another knock sounded on the door, but because this one was quiet instead of angry and   
pounding, Harry and Hermione were fairly sure that it wasn't Professor Snape. Hermione   
yelled, "Come in!" and Ginny Weasley, her ginger-colored hair lightly dusted with snow,   
entered the room.  
  
"It's snowing!" she announced, looking around. "Umm…where's Ron?"  
  
  
  
Ron felt quite sure that one of the greatest pleasures life offered was a bath, especially   
one in a round, five-foot deep marble bathtub filled with bubbles that smelled like   
sandalwood and honey. He sighed happily, watching enchanted rose petals fall from the   
ceiling and land in the water. His dirty clothes had been whisked away by a house elf and   
a clean silk robe and marabou slippers were waiting for him after he got out. Not that he   
planned on doing so anytime soon. He sunk deeper into the water, black hair floating   
around him like a fishing net. Blaise had a lot of hair, and he found that he wasn't quite   
sure how girls managed the problem of washing it. He had gone through almost a whole   
bottle of shampoo.  
  
Eyes closed, he listened happily to the sound of a fountain, forgetting for the moment his   
responsibilities and his unfortunate attraction to Draco. He had already decided not to   
ever think again about his stay at Malfoy Manor, and blame all unpleasantness on the   
unfamiliar hormones running wild through Blaise's body.  
  
Ron heard a soft footfall and ignored it, figuring that it was a house elf bringing more   
soap or something. That is, until…  
  
"Having a good time, my dear?" a masculine voice asked. Ron opened his eyes and   
gasped, swallowing a mouthful of soapy water, when he saw Lucius Malfoy, clad in   
nothing more than a short black robe that was open almost to the waist. He spat out the   
water and coughed. Lucius chuckled.  
  
"Get out!" Ron shrieked.  
  
"Oh, I don't think so…" Lucius drawled in a very Draco-like manner. (Or maybe Draco   
drawls in a Lucius-like manner? Ron's brain sometimes followed very strange tangents.)   
He shed his robe in one quick motion and stepped into the tub, totally naked. Ron   
scrunched his eyes shut, trying to avoid the sight of Nude Lucius. He was also still rather   
angry about the Monopoly game. He opened one eye and saw Lucius advancing towards   
him, a sensual smile on his lips. Ron raised a hand to slap him away but Lucius caught   
Ron's arm in a vice grip and then slowly began licking each of his fingers lovingly. Ron   
thrashed around wildly, but his struggles only pressed him up closer to Lucius' wet,   
soapy body. Ron gasped as an arm encircled his waist and lifted him against the wall of   
the tub.   
  
Lucius' hands were doing things to him that made it hard to think, and so Ron did the   
only thing that he could think of at the moment: he wrapped his hands behind Lucius'   
neck and guided their lips together. He could feel Lucius' grin against his mouth. Once   
again Ron wondered about the extended holiday his conscience seemed to be taking, but   
soon ceased all thought entirely.  
  
  
Harry had been in the Forbidden Forest before, but had been unaware that beyond the   
forest lay a Forbidden Quicksand Pit and then the Forbidden Swamp of Death. He glared   
at Professor Snape, who had what looked like a butterfly nut slung over his shoulder and   
was whistling merrily to himself. Snape had seemed to be in his element dodging   
horseflies and swinging by a vine over the Quicksand Pit. Harry felt like his nerves had   
been ripped apart, danced on, and then run through a juicer.  
  
"Here we are!" Snape announced happily. "The Forbidden Swamp of DEATH!"  
  
Harry's glasses were fogging up from the sulfur-scented steam that was rising from large   
cracks in the ground. Green and orange gases hung menacingly over brackish water, and   
an occasional scream could be heard from the distance. Suddenly, something exploded   
into a fireball. Snape giggled. Harry grimaced.  
  
"Normally, of course, the kappa only lives in Japan," Snape explained unnecessarily. "I   
started a colony of them here in the Swamp just for such an occasion. I think Filch hangs   
out here sometimes, too."  
  
Harry remembered what Hagrid had told them about the kappa during a Care of Magical   
Creatures lesson: "Nasty little blighters, kappa. They can shoot venom or fire and they   
smell like fresh tar!" Hagrid had gestured towards a drawing of a small green creature   
with cruel eyes, long teeth, and an incongruous tuft of hair.  
  
Something grabbed Harry around the neck and he screamed. Snape pulled out his wand   
and shouted a spell that caused green light to shoot out of his wand and vaporize the plant   
that had seized hold of Harry's head. Harry collapsed to the ground, coughing. Snape   
threw back his head and laughed, and Harry had to physically restrain himself from biting   
his ankle. 


	11. …Boudoirs are woken up in and Punishment...

11. …Boudoirs are woken up in and Punishments had  
  
Several hours later, Ron woke up in a Very Large Bed. He quickly took in his   
surroundings: red velvet canopy. Dim lighting. Erotic statues. A fully stocked bar. A   
collection of massage oils on the bedside table. He could only conclude that he had   
woken up in Lucius' Boudoir.  
  
Lucius himself was sprawled out next to Ron, fully awake and entirely naked. He   
lounged on top of the covers, smoking a clove cigarette in a long ivory holder and   
looking intently at the book he was holding. Ron peeked at the cover: "20 Ways to   
Despoil a Virgin and Make It Look Like an Accident: A Practical Guide for Libidinous   
Wizards." Ron noted a sticky feeling and peeked under the covers at his body, only to   
find that he was covered in what had to be chocolate syrup. As there was obviously   
nothing else to be done, Ron pulled a red, silky pillow out from under his head, pressed it   
to his face, and screamed. That helped.   
  
Removing the pillow, Ron kept his face carefully devoid of expression. Inside his head   
he was screaming every insult that he could think of at himself but outside he said,   
"Catching up on some light reading? So, how is it? Enlightening?"   
  
"Utterly." Lucius' eyes remained fixed on his book. "I'm glad you're awake. We have   
just enough time to clean you off before supper."   
  
Ron hurt himself falling out of bed. Actually, knowing that being touched by a Malfoy   
was like having someone press a button to shut his brain off, Ron had tried to leap out of   
bed but had gotten tangled in the sheets. He got up clutching a red sheet about himself   
and alternately spitting and swatting at his face to get that stupid long hair out of his   
mouth. "You just stay away from me." Ron pointed a shaky finger at Lucius, trying to   
sound firm but coming off as simply uncertain.   
  
"Oh, how can you say that after what we had together?" Lucius had put down his book   
and swung his legs over the side of the bed, preparing to advance. Out of options, Ron   
turned and fled, doing his best not to trip on the damned bed sheet.   
  
It took him five minutes to find his room. As soon as he got through the door he flung   
himself across the room and onto the bed, sobbing and cursing himself. WHAT WAS   
WRONG WITH HIM?! He wanted desperately to blame it on the stupid body he was   
wearing -- unfamiliar hormones and all that -- but a horrible little voice kept asking in the   
back of his head, "What if that's not it? What if it's Ron who wants it and is just using   
the body to enjoy it?" He didn't even bother wasting curses on Lucius. What else could   
you really expect from such a man? It was his own folly that had brought him to this   
pass.   
  
"So I guess you didn't stay away from him like I told you to, huh?" Draco seemed to   
materialize out of the darkness. "He didn't hurt you, did he?" He sounded almost   
regretful.   
  
"No! That's just the problem," Ron sat up and practically screamed. "It seems I'm just a   
perverted slut who can't refuse any man who offers. You said your father can't control   
himself. Well apparently neither can I!" At this he threw off the sheet so Draco could   
see the sticky mess congealing down his front. To Ron's great annoyance Draco began to   
laugh. "What's so funny!? I just slept with your father and you're laughing?!" Ron was   
now white with rage.   
  
"You're a mess." Draco was now cracking up, but then he suddenly sobered. "But   
seriously, you shouldn't be so hard on yourself. My dad is very learned in the arts of   
making aphrodisiacs. I doubt it was entirely your fault." Ron was slowly losing his   
anger and starting to become worried. Draco was sounding way too nice. He knew that   
if he had a girlfriend who slept with his father he wouldn't even be able to see straight for   
a week. And then a thought for salvation sprang into his mind.   
  
"And you use them too, is that the deal?" Ron held his breath, desperately hoping for   
permission to place the blame on someone else.   
  
"No, of course not. Why would I use aphrodisiacs on my own girlfriend?" Ron's hopes   
crumbled away into dust. And then, "Wait here. I'll go get a sponge." Ron could only   
nod glumly as Draco strode purposefully from the room.   
  
When he returned Ron was lying prone on the bed, clutching his hands to his head. His   
mind was locked into a tortured circle and he muttered to himself, "What have I done?   
What have I done? I'll never be able to face them again. I'm lost….lost." Apparently   
Ron's conscience was back with a vengeance.   
  
Draco started calmly sponging the syrup from Ron's body with an efficiency that would   
have surprised Ron if he had stopped to notice. Still calm, Draco said, "I'm really much   
angrier than I look, you know. I've taken two years of anger management classes and I   
can hide my anger much better than people think. When it's important anyway." Ron   
continued muttering, nearly incoherent by now. Draco finished wiping the last of the   
chocolate syrup from Ron's breast and appeared to reach a decision. "How about this?   
I'll punish you, and then we'll both feel better." With no response from Ron, Draco   
leaned over and set teeth to flesh.   
  
The first bite went nearly unnoticed but the second managed to penetrate the fog of Ron's   
spiraling guilt. By the third bite he was realizing that it was pointless to dwell on such   
things, that stuff happened but that giving in wasn't necessarily a reason to hate yourself   
for the rest of your life. By the fourth bite Ron's conscience had quit without giving two   
weeks notice and by the fifth bite he was starting to think that maybe he should assist   
Draco in this whole punishment thing by acting the part. He tried to give a whimper of   
pain but unfortunately it came out as more of a moan. Draco sat up abruptly. "We   
should probably be heading down to supper." 


	12. …Various things are forgotten and rememb...

12. …Various things are forgotten and remembered  
  
Something sticky splatted against Harry's cheek and then started to smoke. "No, no!   
You're doing it wrong." Snape was beginning to look exasperated. "When a kappa   
comes flying for your throat the point is not to blow it up but to kill it and gut it. I would   
let you use a more basic kill spell but a kappa's bile is extremely toxic. Once it is dead it   
starts to eat through the corpse like acid. By the time we got back the only thing we'd   
have left is a bunch of rotting kappa hides, though those can be made into gloves useful   
for handling volatile acids." Snape grinned as another stupid kappa flew out of nowhere   
and landed on Harry's head. Snape dispatched it with a neatly executed spell. "Five   
down and just about thirty more to go. That should cover our needs for right now."   
  
"Wouldn't it be more efficient if I just stood out in the middle of that muck there and   
acted as bait?" Harry was quickly becoming fed up.   
  
"Oh, no. By the end there would be nothing left of you. Who would there be to carry the   
carcasses back to Hogwarts then? Quick, here comes another one. If you just   
concentrate I'm sure you can get it right this time."   
  
Harry took aim with his wand, snarling under his breath, and fired. To his great surprise,   
the spell worked perfectly and the kappa dropped dead to the ground. After that he   
determined to bring down twice as many as Snape. Some revenge is petty, he figured,   
but sometimes it's all you've got. Later he would get Hermione to brew up some potion   
to slip into Snape's goblet. Something subtle, maybe something that made him giggle at   
inappropriate moments. Harry comforted himself with this thought. Snape blasted a   
kappa and giggled crazily. Never mind, thought Harry, maybe not a giggling potion.  
  
  
  
Elsewhere at Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Ginny and Hermione were   
curled up on a couch in the Gryffindor common room. Ginny was a good deal calmer   
now that Hermione had explained the Plan to her and was expecting her brother back the   
next day. (She fully supported any plan to aid Harry, who she had liked for as long as she   
could remember.) Hermione, Harry, and the Weasleys were the only Gryffindors staying   
over the Christmas break, and so the two girls had the room entirely to themselves. Ginny   
was taking advantage of their relative solitude by reading the horoscope in the "Daily   
Prophet" and laughing to herself. Hermione was reading a very thick book about water   
creatures to prepare herself for the horrible task she would have to undertake tomorrow.  
  
Suddenly, Ginny gasped loudly.   
"What is it?" Hermione asked, staring unhappily at a diagram of the kappa's digestive   
system.  
"This!" Ginny shoved the newspaper into Hermione's face. Hermione grabbed it and held   
it out in front of her, reading out loud.  
  
"Annual Malfoy New Year's Ball expected to be the Social Event of the Season."   
Underneath this headline was a photo of Lucius and Narcissa waving happily from the   
front door of the Manor. Every few minutes or so, a flash of lightning could be seen in   
the background.  
  
"Oh…no…" Hermione said. "We forgot about that, too."  
  
  
  
Supper at the Malfoy residence was a subdued occasion, given the circumstances.   
Narcissa seemed detached as always, and Ron spent the entire time trying to avoid the   
gazes of both Draco and Lucius. He hoped that there wasn't a Malfoy cousin or   
something stowed away in the manor, because god knows, he would probably end up   
sleeping with him too…  
  
Ron picked at his baked chicken glumly until suddenly Lucius stood up and announced,   
"It's time to get ready." Ron blinked in confusion, but Draco had already grabbed him by   
the arm and pulled him forcefully out of the room.  
  
"Ready…ready…ready for what?" Ron muttered to himself as he frantically tore through   
Blaise's ample luggage. Something caught his eye from the bottom of a large suitcase   
and he pulled it out, gazing at it in horror. It was, quite obviously, a costume: a red velvet   
dress the color of blood, with a richly embroidered bodice and a neckline that appeared as   
if it would hover somewhere around his belly button. A red silk cape and demi-mask with   
an ivory and pearl-inlaid handle completed the ensemble. He buried his face in the dress   
in shame.   
  
"Harry…Hermione…" he said through gritted teeth, "I am going to kill you."  
  
Draco walked in without knocking. Ron looked up at him and had to stifle a laugh that   
even now threatened to knock him over with its power. The whole thing was   
just…ridiculous. Draco was wearing an impeccably cut black suit with a red cravat, a   
black cape, a black mask, and of course, he had enchanted his front teeth to be longer and   
pointy. Vampire Draco. No…Dracula Draco.  
  
Could things get any weirder? Ron thought not.  
  
  
  
  
Harry had returned from his Swamp Adventure nearly unscathed – he had a very small   
singed patch of hair where his head had caught on fire, his clothes smelled like asphault,   
and his face was covered in green goo that he didn't want to think about too closely. The   
low point of the afternoon had been when Snape tripped on some pond slime and   
careened into Harry, and the two had gone rolling down a hill and into a puddle of murky   
water. However, Snape had henceforth been bitten by an overgrown neematoad, and   
Harry silently filed the resulting turmoil into his brain under "Memories to be Treasured   
Forever."  
  
Exhausted but still amused by the thought of Snape hopping about and screeching like a   
banshee on a bad hair day, Harry entered the Gryffindor common room only to see   
Hermione and Ginny sitting and staring at him dolefully.  
  
"Hermione?" Harry asked, suddenly worried. "Ginny?"  
  
Ginny silently held up "The Daily Prophet" and showed him the front page. Harry read it   
quizzically.  
  
"What?" he asked. "I don't get it."   
  
Hermione practically grabbed him by the front of his sweater and shook him. "They're   
having a party! Don't you see? BLAISE'S PARENTS AND HALF OF HOGWARTS   
WILL PROBABLY BE THERE!"  
  
"Well, Ron will probably just let Draco do all the talking," Harry said logically, "I'm sure   
Draco will do that anyway. It's only for a few hours, and Ron's coming back tomorrow."  
  
"True. But…Ron can get…a little overexcited…" Ginny trailed off. "I don't know if he's   
prepared for a party full of Death Eaters and Slytherins."  
  
Hermione still looked put out by Harry's quick dismissal of the whole situation. "Let's   
hope he can do it," she said. "If he gives himself away somehow, we are all in deep   
trouble." She flounced up the stairs to her room and slammed the door. 


	13. …Ron is not the calmest person in the wo...

13. …Ron is not the calmest person in the world  
  
"I guess I forgot about the ball when I did that." Draco was trying, and failing, to look   
apologetic about the bite mark that showed very clearly on Ron's left breast. The   
neckline of the ridiculous dress was much too low to cover it and the cape fastened above   
it. If Ron had been the girl he was masquerading as he would have been tapping his foot   
menacingly and looking pissy but as it was he was merely overwhelmed by the sheer   
ridiculousness of the situation and was shaking with the effort of trying not to laugh.   
  
Actually, the bite mark would have gone fine with the costume, since he was obviously   
dressed up to be Dracula Draco's bride, but for one small problem. The bite had   
obviously been made by blunt, human teeth and, therefore was obviously real. Ron was   
sure that Death Eaters had nothing really against biting each other, but displaying it in   
public, he was sure, was another matter entirely.   
  
Ron's giggle fit gradually receded as his brain started to travel down another one of those   
horribly logical, inevitable, ridiculous paths. The main motivation for this path was this:   
before, Draco was not wearing vampire teeth; now, he was. "Ok, so you'll just have to   
bite me again, it'll just look like a really realistic part of the costume. Just make sure it's   
in EXACTLY the same place or it will just look really stupid." Ron knew that he was   
sounding far too logical and this usually wasn't a good thing.   
  
Draco, on the other hand, looked both delighted and hesitant. "Are you sure? Don't   
forget your parents are going to be there. You could always try hiding it with make-up or   
something."   
  
Ron made a strangled sound at the mention of the parents thing. Oh, those two were SO   
going to die. "Just do it already!" he snapped quickly before his brain became too   
involved. Draco hastened to comply.   
  
  
  
"Are you sure he'll be alright?" Ginny could tell she was being a pest but she was rather   
worried about her brother (also, she had a hard time making herself leave the presence of   
Harry Potter).   
  
"He'll be fine." Harry had his nose in a book, doing his best to avoid looking at Ginny,   
who was being a pest.   
  
"But you know he's not the calmest person out there?" Ginny was starting to whine,   
partly because she was highly annoyed with Harry. He paid her so little attention that she   
almost would have thought he was gay if it weren't for those stupid magazines she kept   
finding under the bed when she cleaned his room for him. Really, the boy was such a   
slob. "But a slob with such pretty eyes," her mind whispered. "Fine, I'll just go see if   
Hermione needs any help studying then," she spat as Harry failed to reply and marched   
from the room. Harry breathed a small sigh of relief as she left. Then he laughed,   
thinking of Ron dressed up in a ball gown, and resolved to tease him about it when he got   
back.   
  
  
  
Ron grinned stupidly as he received another blank look from Blaise's mother.   
Apparently inquiring whether her parents had had a good trip was not a typical Blaise   
thing to say, or else Ron was dealing with some serious misinformation. Seemingly   
trying to make a great effort to act as though everything were normal, the woman must   
have decided that acting motherly was the best way to go. "Are you sure you don't want   
a tissue? It really does look like you're bleeding. It's getting into the lace."   
  
"I told you mother, it's fake." Ron wanted nothing more than to get away. The problem   
was, it WAS bleeding, and far to profusely for Ron's comfort. He swore that at the next   
opportunity he was going to make that bastard Draco pay for it too. Any idiot could   
figure out that vampire fangs would be sharper than regular teeth and that, under the   
circumstance, biting gently might be in order.   
  
It was then that a very large and hairy tarantula flew across the room and landed on Ron's   
unblemished breast. Now, if Ron had not been Ron, he would have remembered being   
introduced to Draco's jerk of a cousin, Blain. He would have remembered being very   
relieved that, despite the fact that there was another Malfoy in the house, this one was   
twelve years old and hadn't advanced beyond the drop-something-to-get-a-peek-up-the-  
girl's-skirt phase and also that Blain had a large, hairy spider, oddly named The Big   
Potato, that Blain seemed to like to wave in people's faces.   
  
Upon his prior meeting of The Big Potato, Ron had stiffened and crushed Draco's hand in   
a vice grip but managed to remain mostly outwardly calm. Not so this time. This time   
Ron screamed, very loud and VERY high. In an unthinking attempt to remove the   
monster from his breast Ron started running frantically about the room, waving his arms   
ineffectually and bumping into the other guests. This behavior ceased when he tripped   
and went careening into Lucius Malfoy, who caught him deftly in his arms, plucked the   
offending bug from its creamy white seat and tossed it away to the side. "Having some   
trouble, my dear?" Lucius inquired drolly. "I take it we don't like spiders then, do we?"   
Ron slapped him, then turned and stalked off to find the punch bowl.   
  
"I'll remember that for the next time you sleep with my Dad then, shall I?" Draco   
materialized at Ron's elbow, offering a cup of something that steamed menacingly. Ron   
downed it in one gulp.   
  
"You do and you'll wake up castrated in the morning." Ron was beyond caring that he   
had apparently morphed into a completely different person once setting foot in Malfoy   
Manor; check that, in Malfoy carriage. Only idly did he wonder whether his personality   
would change back with his body. What did it matter anymore? What was in that drink   
anyway? Then, because he knew he could handle Draco far better than he could handle   
this stupid ball he turned to Draco and said, "Hey, you want to ditch this party?" Ron put   
on his most seductive smile, which had seen recent improvement in the past couple of   
days. Whatever was in that drink was damn good. 


	14. …Severus Snape is undeniably tipsy

14. …Severus Snape is undeniably tipsy  
  
Draco looked torn. "But we have to be here at midnight to lead the first dance of the   
New Year."   
  
Ron was puzzled. "But it isn't even New Year's Eve yet, Draco." To this Draco simply   
looked baffled. Ron felt he was missing something. "It's nine o'clock now. We can   
come back at midnight. I really don't think I can take this for another three hours."   
  
Draco brightened at this but then another thought flew visibly across his face. "I thought   
you said I was doomed to torment in the deepest hells after that bite." Despite the fact   
that he should be acting worried at this, Draco was grinning like an idiot. With the   
vampire fangs it looked doubly stupid.   
  
"Oh, don't worry," Ron said, taking Draco by the wrist and pulling him towards a side   
door, "I'll make sure to get you for that when you least expect it."   
  
Just before they reached the door, however, they were assaulted unexpectedly by Severus   
Snape. If Ron hadn't known better he would have sworn the professor was tipsy.   
"Draco, Blaise, so good you see you. Are you two enjoying yourselves?" Severus   
winked suggestively at Draco, and Ron had to restrain himself from hiding behind his   
partner. Okay, so the professor was drunk. What next? "I'm sure you have things to be   
doing but I just thought I'd share a story that's bound to amuse you. I caught Harry   
Potter and Hermione Granger stealing ingredients out of my cabinet yesterday." At this   
news Ron stiffened, sure he was seconds from having his "cover" blown. "Don't ask me   
what they thought they were doing. The only explanations they offered had something to   
do with socks and Ron Weasley being a slut." At this the two (real) Slytherins chuckled   
evilly and Ron's eyes narrowed. At the moment he was confused but when he figured   
out who was responsible he would smite them.   
  
Meanwhile, Snape was still drunk. "So, anyway, I took Harry Potter kappa hunting and   
by the time we got back a nice bit of his hair was burned off. Makes him look like a   
monk novice who chickened out before going all the way through with it." By now the   
other two were laughing so hard that tears were streaming from their eyes. The side of   
Ron that was aligned with good and Harry Potter (since the two were obviously   
synonymous) was indignant. Anybody who would slight Harry this way deserved his   
wrath. However, the recently emerging, evil new side of Ron was not going to easily   
forget the fact that his friends had told a professor that he was a slut. The fact that it was   
true was beside the point. Such a betrayal of friendship deserved one in its turn.   
  
The evil side won. Pulling Draco against him and making a grab for his crotch Ron   
purred, "It's about time we got going, don't you think?" Without saying a word, Draco   
turned a made a beeline for the door. Snape merely made a sound halfway between a   
giggle and a cackle as he watched them go.   
  
  
  
Meanwhile, Harry, Hermione and Ginny were sitting on Hermione's bed, looking a bit   
worried. The enchanted earring sitting on Hermione's table was ticking like a Geiger   
counter, or like a bomb getting ready to explode.   
  
"Maybe it's counting down till midnight," Ginny suggested hopefully. It was one of the   
most vapid things either of the other two had ever heard her utter. The pure idiocy of the   
statement caused a very extended silence to grow in the conversation.  
  
  
  
Ron was very glad to escape the council room, which apparently also doubled as a   
ballroom. Nobody had mentioned that to him, or the ball itself, for that matter. Next time   
he was going to get some serious information before Polyjuicing himself into anybody   
else. He held a monogrammed handkerchief ("DM," of course) to his breast to staunch   
the bleeding there. Draco must have hit a major artery or something. Or whatever those   
were called. The point was, he was annoyed. Mostly at Harry, for some reason. Harry   
made a good scapegoat. (Ron liked Hermione a little too much to blame her for his   
current predicament, but he was learning to make allowances.)  
  
Draco was preening himself in front of the mirror, fussing with his hair and examining   
his pointy teeth. Ron suddenly noticed that Draco's hair was a good deal longer than he   
thought it was, and he didn't slick it back with the loads of hair gel that he did in their   
younger years. Maybe being a girl means you notice these things, Ron mused.  
  
A house elf discreetly entered the small room they were hidden in, left a platter of food,   
and vanished. The room was about the size of Ron's back at the Burrow, but in Malfoy   
Manor it seemed positively miniscule. It was more of a "nook" off one of the hallways,   
curtained off with hangings of velvet green. It had a window that looked into the council   
room (Ron assumed that it was invisible to those in the council room itself) and a plush   
window seats lined the walls. It also had a very large mirror, much to Draco's delight.  
  
The bleeding seemed to have ceased. Ron groaned. Something was honestly wrong with   
him. He was in danger of blowing his cover and yet all he could think about was   
charming away Draco's stupid pointy teeth and having his way with him on one of the   
velvet benches. Ron was absolutely straight. He loved girls. He loved the magazines that   
Harry kept underneath his bed in musty boxes. Heck, he loved Hermione. He'd never had   
a serious girlfriend, but that was mostly because he was too chicken to ask Hermione out.   
He had once gotten really drunk on whiskey and slept with a Hufflepuff girl, and had   
loved it (even though he couldn't really remember much of the encounter). So why was   
he so attracted to Draco? It made no sense.  
  
Draco ceased his admiration of himself and came and sat next to Ron. "Well," he said,   
"We have about two hours until midnight." He looked at the bitemark, his mouth   
twitching in amusement. "What should we do?"  
  
Ron, who had several cookies shoved inelegantly into his mouth, attempted to answer:   
"Maa woofh noon."  
  
Draco raised an eyebrow.  
  
Ron swallowed and threw up his hands in frusteration. "Have sex! What else do we do?   
Talk about our feelings? No! So take your clothes off and lets just DO it!"  
  
Draco looked at him strangely, appearing rather like a deer with a huge spotlight being   
shone in its head. Then, he laughed. Hysterically. He rolled onto the floor and chortled,   
and Ron thought he could see tears running down his face.  
  
"WHAT?" Ron asked peevishly.  
  
"I don't…know…" Draco managed. "You're just acting so…WEIRD." He laughed a bit   
more, then visibly gained control of himself, sitting up with great effort. "Usually you're   
all 'No, Draco, it's not comfortable here.' 'The light's not right! Don't look at me!'   
Usually you act like such a…GIRL!" He chuckled to himself, then looked with dismay at   
his wrinkled cape.  
  
Ron's mouth had dropped open in shock. He never thought that he made a good girl, of   
course, but he was just acting like he thought girls should act. Apparently he'd been   
wrong, and Blaise was even more high-maintenance than she seemed.  
  
"It's fine," Draco said, sliding back up onto the seat. He suddenly looked very serious. "I   
think I like you better this way." 


	15. …Underwear is left behind

15. …Underwear is left behind  
  
  
Snape hated coming to Lucius' house. He hated the way it made the Dark Mark on his   
arm burn and singe his clothing. He was only at this stupid ball because the Death Eaters   
might begin to suspect that his double agent front was false (which, of course, it was) if   
he didn't attend.   
  
He sipped a glass of port, scowling at the dancing couples. Honestly, what did wizards   
find so attractive about dressing up? It was a waste of time. With a wry grin, Snape noted   
that not a single person had asked him about his costume – a set of black silk robes and a   
black hat with a single purple feather. He was supposed to be the dark wizard   
Mordreadus, but he supposed that everybody assumed he was wearing his normal   
clothing.  
  
Snape also had a second reason for being at this party. The Death Eaters traditionally   
ended the night by sitting around the council table and discussing their plans for the next   
year, after the ball had ended, and he had assured Dumbledore that he would uncover just   
how they planned to do away with Harry Potter this time.   
  
Suddenly the lights dimmed and Lucius stepped into the center of the room, his voice   
magically echoing throughout the whole room. "…my son, Draco Malfoy!" he boomed.  
  
Draco led his girlfriend into the center of the room and the first strains of a waltz began.   
The two teenagers danced as the whole room looked on. Then, Snape heard a massive   
explosion. He was thrown against the wall by an unknown force and then…blackness.  
  
  
Ron was having a hard time dancing with Draco, but then, Ron was used to leading (not   
that Ron had ever been particularly good at dancing, but that was beside the point). It   
also wasn't helping that Draco kept doing these dramatic swirly turns so he could check   
that the wrinkles had settled out of his cloak ok. Not only was Ron attracted to a boy, but   
an egoist as well. Maybe that was it! Maybe all girls were egoists and that somehow   
drew boys in. No, that would be too simple. Ron wrenched his thoughts back to relevant   
matters just as his ankles were about to give way. Remember to step with the toe. Step   
with the toe. Damn, high-heels took concentration.   
  
Just as he was starting to get a hang of the stupid three-step, the explosion hit. It came   
from along the wall, where the table and chairs that usually dominated the council room   
had been pushed to make room for the guests. Ron slammed hard into Dracos embrace.   
The momentum continued so that they flew a couple of yards through the air before   
landing full length and sliding several more. Ron was glad he was on top. Draco was   
looking a bit dazed and there was more blood on his enchanted teeth. Ron was just   
starting to feel the cut along his cheekbone. Stupid teeth!   
  
He rolled off of Draco and sat up, looking around. Noting the direction of the blast and   
the fact that the conference table seemed to be located at the epicenter Ron had a brief,   
disconcerting flash on a jelly sandwich before continuing his scan. It looked as though   
just about all the guests had been flattened and more than half appeared unconscious.   
Continuing his survey of the room, Ron decided that those were the lucky ones.   
  
One figure remained standing, essentially due to the fact that he had been standing in   
front of the far wall when the explosion occurred. It had driven him hard against the wall   
so that several cracks radiated outward from his as yet frozen figure and had torn his   
robes to near shreds. Only a few ragged strips managed to hang from strategic locations,   
and Lucius Malfoy appeared far more dazed than his son.   
  
A reporter for the Daily Prophet promptly appeared out of nowhere and started snapping   
pictures of the entire scene. The annoying little man remained the only one in the room   
with much energy until a dog just about took his leg off. Ron was only just then getting   
back around to the blast side of the room and so he noticed them about the same time that   
everybody else did. Ron made a mental note to remember for all of his days that when   
things explode at Malfoy Manor, they produce a dozens dogs from hell. These dogs   
inspired essentially two thoughts and they were, respectively: "Cerberus!?!" and   
"RUN!!!" Now even the unconscious people were full of energy.   
  
Draco was still moaning pathetically about his poor, little, bruised butt so Ron slapped   
him across the face.   
  
"Three-headed dogs, you idiot!" Ron yelled, jerking Draco's head so that he was forced   
to see the reality that was upon them. If the situation hadn't been so serious Ron would   
have laughed at the panicky flurry of arms and legs Draco produced trying to get up. As   
it was, he was busy ditching his shoes.   
  
By some miracle Draco retained the presence of mind to not abandon his girlfriend.   
Grabbing Ron's wrist, the two fled to the nearest exit, fighting against the crush of guests   
desperately trying to vacate the council chamber. Right as they made it though the door,   
Ron heard the sound of three jaws snapping t on their tail and he and Draco quickly   
dodged into the nearest room, slamming the door.   
  
"Do you think someone is trying to tell us something?" Ron asked as he recognized the   
small room the two once again found themselves in.   
  
"Yes, never leave without your underwear." Draco had recovered from his shock   
remarkably quickly and was holding up the lacy red thong he and Ron hadn't had time to   
find before going back out for the dance.   
  
Ron snorted before catching a sight of the window that looked into the council chamber.   
Most of the guests had cleared out by now but a few were apparently trying to fight back   
against the dogs, pointing their wands dramatically and shouting curses that were having   
no visible effect. "I wonder if they're related to Fluffy," Ron said without thinking.   
  
"They're my fathers council room guard dogs," Draco said, sitting down on the bench   
next to Ron and beginning to toy with some strands of hair whisping about Ron's neck.   
"They wont actually kill anyone but traitors against Death Eaters, though I think maiming   
is a big part of their job description. Dad will probably round them up in a couple   
minutes. Who's Fluffy?" He obviously didn't really care about the answer as he was now   
nuzzling the base of Ron's throat.   
  
If you're gonna go for a man, go for one with a lot of stamina I guess, Ron thought to   
himself. Then, realizing his slip-up, he said, "Oh, I just heard once that Hagrid had a   
three-headed dog named Fluffy. Probably just a myth, you know."   
  
"Mnnmmnn." Draco was busy with buttons and Ron decided not to distract him any   
further. 


	16. …Harry figures out a problem, for once

16. …Harry figures out a problem, for once   
  
  
Harry blinked and wiped some of the soot out of his eyes. "Well, that was weird," he   
pronounced, stating the obvious. Apparently the enchanted earring had, for some   
inexplicable reason, been counting down to midnight. As the hour approached the ticks   
had grown louder, deeper and generally more ominous. Then, as Hermiones clock stuck   
twelve, it started bouncing around her table like some deranged Mexican jumping bean,   
spitting multicolored sparks in every direction. The finale was anticlimactic. The three   
Gryffindors were pressed up as close to the wall as they could get, bracing themselves.   
Instead of the terrible explosion they were expecting the earring paused in midair,   
hovering for a moment, then in a clear and well-enunciated voice, said "Poof!" It   
exploded like swept soot down a chimney, silently blackening the room.   
  
"I wonder what the other one did?" Ginny queried, her eyes shockingly bright, looking up   
at Harry from the black lump huddled under his arm.   
  
"If were lucky it did the same thing and everyone just thought it was some New Years   
party trick gone a bit wrong." Hermione didn't sound hopeful, though, and considering   
the state her room was now in, she had a right to be in a bad mood. "Well, I'm sure Ron   
will be glad to know that we turned him into the girlfriend of one of our worst enemies   
for nothing."  
  
It was then that they began to hear the screams.   
  
  
  
Ron was feeling a little embarrassed, which was weird considering that half an hour ago   
he would have sworn that he had absolutely no pride left. It had happened right when   
Draco had just managed to unhook the front of Ron's dress. He had been doing some   
very distracting things with the breasts that had been encased therein and Ron had been   
dazedly wondering why girls were so uptight about boys touching their breasts. The   
nerves had obviously been placed so as to welcome caress and…and….and… And that   
must be why; it made it too hard to concentrate. Oh, who the hell needs to concentrate?   
  
And just then a dark, slightly greasy head had peeked around the door to their nook   
muttering, "now I was wondering if…" and then had trailed off as the man caught a look   
at the display spread out before him. For a moment they all formed a frozen tableau: Ron   
paused in mid gasp, bare from the waist up; Draco peeking up startled from between   
Ron's breasts; and Professor Snape leaning halfway through the doorway, his jaw   
looking like it was about to drop off. Then Ron heard the snapping of several sets of   
canine jaws and Snape ducked out of sight with a hasty, "Oh, no. I must have been   
mistaken. Crazy idea in the first place."   
  
Draco hadn't seemed to mind too much, aside from the fact that it was an interruption,   
and had merely said something to the effect of "Well, what does he expect, walking into a   
closed room?" and had gone back to what he had been doing with a wicked little grin   
curling the corners of his mouth. Ron had had a harder time shaking the encounter,   
however, and it had taken a full two minutes of Draco's skills before his mind had once   
again returned to that warm, fuzzy place. And now, as he lay next to Draco, sleeping   
swathed in some of the ridiculous yardage of Ron's costume, the scene had come back to   
haunt him. He was having a hard time putting his finger on just what had disturbed him   
so much, but he could either try to puzzle it out or try to go to sleep. Considering the fact   
that a floor is much less comfortable when one is…unoccupied, he was a bit baffled as to   
how Draco had pulled that second option off.   
  
Oh hell, Ron thought next. He'd never felt himself very good at thinking, and certainly   
not when it involved self-analysis.   
  
"Wake up, Draco," he growled, punching the blond in the arm. "If we're gonna sleep we   
should do it somewhere comfortable!"   
  
  
  
"It sounds like Hermione's table is transmitting the sound from the council room now."   
Ginny was trying to best Harry at stating the obvious.   
  
She continued, "It doesn't sound like they're having a very good time does it. I wonder   
which part of the table is transmitting the sound exactly, or if it's the whole thing?"  
  
Hermione shook her head in puzzlement. "I have no clue." She was listening with interest   
to the myriad of sounds coming from the table – a cacophony of canine barks, screaming   
men and women, and a particularly colorful round of curses in a deep voice. She was also   
pretty sure that somebody was laughing gleefully, and it sounded like Lucius Malfoy.  
  
"When the earring exploded, it must have transferred its powers to the table. Probably   
because we used a silver amplifier in the first place," Harry reasoned.   
  
Ginny and Hermione stared at him in shock.  
  
"What," Harry said, "can't I figure out a problem for once?"  
  
"Figure out what we're supposed to do now that we've blown up half of the stupid   
council room!" Ginny snapped. The stress of the whole stupid plan was getting to her.  
  
"We have to get in touch with Ron," Hermione said gravely. "He has to remove the   
amplifier before it does something else strange and they trace it to us."  
  
"And our whole plan will be for nothing?" Harry asked.  
  
"We'll think of a new one," answered Hermione. "Right now, we have to worry about   
Ron's safety." Hermione was a little more worried about Ron's than she let on. There   
was a very specific reason that the extended Polyjuice Potion was (slightly) illegal: it had   
the tendency to modify the feelings and emotions of the drinker as well as those who   
came in contact with them. She hoped that one weekend of being Blaise Zabini wasn't   
wreaking havoc on Ron's mental state and wasn't doing incredibly strange things to the   
Malfoys either. She would never even have suggested such a potion, except Harry's life   
was probably on the line. I should have taken the potion myself, she thought angrily.  
  
"Harry…Ginny…" she began, "there's something I have to tell you about that potion." 


	17. …Draco can’t stand up well to Feminine H...

17. Draco can't stand up well to Feminine Hysterics  
  
Draco lay on his bed, Blaise's head resting on his arm. She was snuggled up against him,   
one leg thrown haphazardly over his torso. He felt incredibly content – Blaise had been   
nicer and more agreeable this weekend than ever, except for the stupid Monopoly   
incident – but he couldn't shake the feeling that something was just…wrong.  
  
Was it the fact that she had slept with his father? No…not entirely. The Malfoy family   
was a strange one, and Draco had to admit that such behavior was not out of character for   
Lucius at all. Certainly he was angry as all hell, but he didn't blame Blaise (much).   
Lucius was just too good at manipulating people, and Blaise hadn't been prepared.  
  
Draco couldn't come to a satisfying conclusion as to what was bothering him. He idly   
played with a strand of Blaise's hair, thinking. He decided that a cup of hot chocolate was   
the cure for what ailed him, and that he might as well try this whole "making food for   
yourself" thing.  
  
He shifted positions, gently arranging Blaise on the pillow and placing a blanket over her.   
He shrugged on a dark green wool bathrobe and was about to leave the room when a   
small white object poking out of Blaise's dressing gown, draped over a chair, caught his   
eye. Puzzled, he grabbed it – a small piece of parchment, written on in purple ink. He   
scanned it quickly.  
  
B. –  
  
Please don't forget to return my earrings! I hope that you haven't lost them somewhere.   
Whatever you do, don't come back to Hogwarts without them OR ELSE!!  
  
Love, H. H.   
  
Draco blinked. Blaise had disappeared for a few minutes earlier, claiming she had to   
"freshen up" before bed. Clearly she had also received this letter. But who was H.H.?   
And why did they care so much about some stupid earrings?   
  
  
"Ok, Hermione. Now that we're sure Ron will come back with the earring and that's all   
taken care of, let's go over this thing one more time." Harry was trying to act firm but   
was mostly just confused. "You said that the potion COULD modify Ron's feelings and   
emotions. So he could also just be fine?" Ginny looked like she had her fingers crossed   
behind her back.   
  
Hermione didn't look quite so encouraged. "Everything that I've read says that the   
potion will have some effect but that the degree of the effect varies from person to   
person." Hermione looked down at her feet and said in a small voice, "He could also   
come back to us a mess."   
  
Harry was starting to wear his righteous indignation face. "Ok, now HOW exactly does   
it modify a person's feelings? You've been extremely vague on this point."   
  
"This also varies from person to person. Ron could become increasingly angry, or   
indifferent, or any number of things. The effect is not well studied and it could manifest   
anywhere along the emotional spectrum. I think the only known consistencies are with   
the people involved." Hermione's voice was starting to develop a high edge to it that   
was close to fraying Harry's patience.   
  
"By people involved, do you mean the character of the people who take the potion or the   
character of the people they are turning into? Do they start to act more like who they   
look like? 'Cause if so I heard a rumor once that Blaise was a bit of a tramp." Hermione   
looked shocked at what Harry was implying and even Harry paused for a minute,   
confused. Only Ginny retained her look of wide-eyed helplessness, continuing to say   
nothing.   
  
"No." Hermione's voice was shaky but firm. "I don't think it has anything to do with the   
characters of those they turn into. I think the potion just puts quirks into the character of   
the potion taker himself." She bit her lip thinking. "I do remember one thing that   
seemed to be consistent, actually." Harry just raised an eyebrow and Hermione continued   
hurriedly. "Those who took the potion, aside from the other effects seen, all exhibited   
increased impulsiveness."   
  
"Well that's just great, isn't it." Hermione, and Ginny too, looked very fragile in the face   
of Harry's anger. "So, what happens if Ron just impulsively hexes Lucius or something   
equally stupid and blows his cover? WHAT THEN!?!" At this point Harry realized that   
he was becoming hysterical and should try to calm down. "Ok, ok. I suppose we can't   
worry about it now. We should just all get some sleep and when Ron gets back tomorrow   
we can see how he is then." Harry was starting to feel extremely tired. Hermione   
nodded stiffly to his advice. Ginny started crying.   
  
  
  
Ron awoke the next morning in an entirely new bed. "Three beds in two days. Must be   
some kind of record," Ron thought lazily to himself. He rolled over to face Draco   
sleeping next to him and stifled a giggle. No matter what, giggling would always be   
stupid. Draco's mouth was smeared all around with chocolate, like a baby who hasn't yet   
mastered the fine art of the spoon. It was then that Ron noticed that he himself was   
feeling a bit sticky and wasn't sure whether to laugh or scowl about the whole strange-  
bed-and-too-much-chocolate problem he seemed to be going through.   
  
"Draco, why am I all sticky?" Ron asked after kissing away some of the chocolate   
marring Draco's mouth and rousing him to some semblance of wakefulness. For a   
couple of moments Draco just looked sleepily befuddled.   
  
"Oh, yeah. I spilled my hot chocolate." Draco closed his eyes and yawned hugely.   
"Sorry about that." He pulled himself up into a half-sitting position and stared groggily   
at the far wall. "Oh and I meant to ask you. Who's H.H. and what could be so important   
about a pair of earrings that she'd send an owl in the middle of the night?"   
  
"Oh, shit!" Ron was instantly awake and sitting bolt upright in bed. He had totally   
forgotten about the letter from Harry and Hermione and his plan to sneak down before   
Draco woke up to see if the earring had survived the explosion. STUPID. STUPID.   
STUPID. He felt like banging his hand against his forehead but knew that would be a   
mistake. And now he needed to come up with something to tell Draco.   
  
"I…I…um…well..H.H. is this..uh..distant cousin of mine. Hepsaba Hink." Ron was   
thinking frantically while Draco was looking skeptical. "I begged her to let me borrow   
her earrings for this trip, see, because, um..I don't think you'll like this." Draco was now   
looking extremely attentive and Ron was hoping desperately that his lie would work.   
"They're charmed to make the wearer look..um..really attractive if you know what I   
mean." Ron put on his best worried expression, which was pretty good considering that   
he was, in fact, quite worried.   
  
Draco looked like he was about to burst out laughing so Ron decided to cover up   
whatever he was about to say with his best show of feminine hysterics, which was not so   
good. "But I've lost them!" he wailed, pulling on his hair to look extra convincing. "I   
lost them at the ball, you've got to help me find them. She'll kill me if I don't get them   
back to her!" At this point Ron's thoughts froze on this rather stupid mistake. Draco   
help him find them. Was he nuts? There was only one earring to begin with and it might   
not even be there and if it was what was he going to do if it was still stuck to the   
underside of the council chamber? How was he going to explain that one, huh?! Maybe   
he could look under there quickly while Draco was looking somewhere else. Ron seized   
on this thought.   
  
Fortunately for Ron's cover (at the present moment anyway) Draco didn't seem to be   
able to stand up well to female hysterics, however poorly acted. "Don't worry, we'll find   
them, don't worry," he said putting his hands on Ron's shoulders to try to stop the   
wailing. Ron stopped obligingly and just stared mutely at Draco, unsure of what to do   
next. 


	18. …Hermione has a few Cockamamie Ideas

18. …Hermione has a few Cockamamie Ideas   
  
A few minutes later found the two on hands and knees crawling around the council room   
floor. Ron had had the presence of mind to throw on a robe but was being careful to face   
away from Draco as it had a tendency to gape in the front. His plan required that Draco   
be looking elsewhere when he checked under the council table. "Maybe they got kicked   
under somewhere. How about you check behind the wall hangings and I'll look under   
the table?" Ron did his best to sound innocent as he scurried nonchalantly under the   
table.   
  
Looking back and over his distractingly round butt he checked that Draco was indeed   
poking around under the tapestries as he had suggested. Quickly, before he lost his   
chance, he searched for the spot in the middle of the table where he had stuck the earring   
and was depressed to find nothing more than a dark scorch like an x marking the spot.   
He sighed and was just about to go off and keep looking in case the earring had blasted   
away somewhere else (actually, if it had destroyed itself that might not be such a bad   
thing) but then he heard a small sound coming from the spot where the earring had been.   
Wiggling closer he heard a very faint humming that sounded suspiciously like Hermione.   
  
Ron grew cold. Had the explosion somehow switched things around? That sounded   
bad. "Hermione?" he ventured quietly, hoping Draco was still distracted. A miniscule   
yelp from the burn mark on the table suggested that she had heard him. "I can't find the   
earring but I can hear you faintly from the spot where I put it," Ron whispered to the burn   
mark.   
  
"You finding anything under there?" Ron jumped and almost hit his head on the   
underside of the table as Draco peeked under.   
  
"No, I can't find it anywhere!" Ron wailed just as he heard a faint "Ron?" from the table.   
He crawled over to Draco, leaving Hermione to figure things out on her own. "What am   
I going to do?"   
  
"Maybe you can buy another pair somewhere." Draco offered, helping Ron to stand.   
Ron was sometimes suspicious of how nice Draco could be at moments. This whole   
house is messed up, he thought to himself.   
  
"Maybe," he admitted in a small voice right before his stomach gave another one of its   
embarrassingly loud growls. Draco laughed, taking him by the elbow and leading him   
off to breakfast.   
  
  
  
Hermione was beginning to be very worried. She had called to Ron without first thinking   
what the two-way communication might mean. Now that was starting to sink in and she   
began rummaging through her books for anything that might muffle the sounds that   
reached her table. And someone else had been there too, that wasn't good. It had almost   
sounded like Draco being nice. Hermione shook her head to clear it of cockamamie   
ideas. She really hoped that Ron hadn't gotten into any trouble. She would feel much   
better once he was safe back at Hogwarts and in is normal body. Still paging through one   
of her books, she wandered out of the room to go find Harry and Ginny.   
  
  
  
Breakfast was tense. Lucius sat at the head of the table grumbling to himself and writing   
out notes to various people. He had made it clear that he was going to get to the bottom   
of what had happened last night and Ron was doing his best to act invisible. The only   
good thing about the catastrophe was that there had been so many people there and by   
rights the blame could fall on any of them. There was one particularly bad moment for   
Ron when Draco had opened his mouth as though he had just thought of something and   
looked speculatively over at his girlfriend. Thankfully he had shut it again with the   
arrival of the newspaper and refrained from saying anything through the rest of breakfast.   
  
The newspaper was a whole other scare, for everyone at the table. Upon seeing the   
picture on the front page Lucius had let out a horrifying roar and ranted for a full five   
minutes about the lack of privacy in the wizarding world today before storming out of the   
room, the newspaper a crumpled rag in his fist. After this Draco left as well and Ron   
followed suite, hurrying upstairs to pack Blaise's mammoth luggage. He was very glad   
to be escaping back to Hogwarts soon and pushed any regrets far to the back of his mind.   
  
At nine sharp Draco knocked on his door and told him the carriage was ready to take him   
back to Hogwarts. He seemed very quiet as he picked up the larger suitcase and marched   
out the door. Ron followed him with his other bag cautiously, afraid that he suspected   
something.   
  
His fears were laid to rest, however, once they got into the carriage and Draco turned   
back into his old, smoozy self. "You don't have a headache this time, do you?" Draco   
purred, sidling up to Ron and leaning over for a lingering kiss. Ron could only shake his   
head mutely as Draco pulled back. "I'm sorry you have to go so soon. Despite a few   
incidences, which I shall try not to mention here, I think we had a lot of fun." Draco's   
look was smoldering and that wicked little smile was once again curling the corners of   
his mouth. Ron felt his mind once again falling into that warm, fuzzy place and only   
distantly heard Draco add, "It's probably good you're going, though, considering the   
state my father's in," as his hands were busy saying something entirely different.   
  
  
  
"He's here! He's here!" Ginny chirped from the window where the other two had set her   
to watch for the Malfoy carriage. Harry and Hermione had just finished fixing a   
soundproof bubble around Hermione's table when they dashed over to look out the   
window. The Malfoy carriage had, indeed, pulled up in front of Hogwarts and the two   
black horses pulling it were stamping at the ground, impatient to be off again. From their   
vantage point Hermione could just make out that the horses had red eyes and she   
shuddered to think of the horrible weekend that Ron must have experienced.   
  
"What's taking so long?" Harry asked after a full minute of staring at the carriage and no   
sight of Ron. "I hope he's ok and nothing went wrong. More wrong," he added after a   
look from Hermione. Just then they saw two figures emerge from the black carriage,   
unload the luggage from the back, and disappear inside.   
  
"Well, we'll see how he is soon enough," Hermione said, getting down from the window   
ledge and hurrying to the door. The others followed and they rushed downstairs to wait   
in a hallway near the Slytherin commons for Ron. It was a good twenty minutes until   
they saw him again and he looked slightly pissed. 


	19. …Ron’s gone a bit Nuts

19. …Ron's gone a bit Nuts   
  
"So, how'd go?" Harry ventured as they trailed behind him, wending their way to the   
deserted girl's bathroom.   
  
"You haven't read the papers this morning have you?" Ron definitely sounded like he   
was in a bad mood. "And why the freak didn't you tell me that they were going to be   
having a costume ball? Do you have any idea what Blaise had picked out for it?!" This   
time Ron turned, rounding on Harry and pointing an accusatory finger. Ron had not yet   
turned back into his normal body and Harry was having difficulty coming up with an   
answer. "Oh, well. What does it matter anyway?" Ron said, pushing the door open to   
the bathroom and stalking inside. Harry and Hermione exchanged a worried look.   
  
When they got into the bathroom Ron seemed to be in a better mood. "So now you're in   
on the whole thing, huh Ginny?" he said giving his sister a hug and knuckling her head.   
Ginny squeaked and struggled from her brother's grasp. "Hey, one of you guys brought a   
change of clothes, right?" Ginny started and dashed from the room. "Well, it'll be good   
to get out of this butt floss and into some real clothes again," Ron's grin was rather   
mischievous and he gave no warning before stripping off his blouse.   
  
Harry yelped. "Hey, why can't you change back before stripping, huh!?" He was trying   
very hard to only look at Ron's face but his eyes desperately wanted to wander   
downward. Remember: this is RON, he said sternly to himself.   
  
"Because I would rip the clothes when I changed. You know I'm taller than this, Harry."   
Having doffed his high heels he started reaching back for his bra clasp. Harry turned   
bright red and stalked out of the bathroom.   
  
"That was mean, Ron." Hermione was becoming more and more righteous the more she   
saw of Blaise's perfectly sculpted body. Ron just gave a strange smile and continued   
undressing. Hermione looked worried.   
  
Just as he had managed to wiggle out of the last annoying bit of Blaise's underclothes his   
own clothes came sailing through the quickly opened door and draped themselves around   
Ron's head. "Great timing, Ginny," he yelled before beginning the chore of redressing.   
The clothes might be a bit large on Blaise's body and he might have let Hermione see   
him naked as Blaise but he was not going to let her see him naked as himself. Ron   
wondered briefly how this particular shyness reflected on his personality since he seemed   
to have practically none otherwise.   
  
"Ron, sit down, will you? I need to talk to you." The knot at Hermione's brow was   
starting to make her look like the before picture on a Botox add. Wait, what was Botox   
again? Ron was still feeling flighty. Anyway…he already had his pants on so he sat   
down next to Hermione, pulling his shirt over his head. "Ron, is that a bite mark!?" The   
shock in Hermione's voice was mostly covered over by worry.   
  
Ron quickly pulled his shirt down. "Just don't ask. It's nothing, believe me. Let's just   
suffice it to say that Draco dressed as a vampire for the ball and guess what that left me   
as?" Hermione looked confused for a moment but then Ron saw the resolution not to   
think about it come over her face.   
  
"Ron, have you been feeling ok this past weekend?"   
  
Hermione was indeed looking quite worried so Ron answered warily. "You mean aside   
from morphing into Draco's girlfriend and wearing high heels and trying to talk to   
Blaise's parents at a Death Eater ball? Yes, I think I'm ok." Whatever else, Ron was   
determined that Harry and Hermione not find out any of the particulars of his stay at   
Malfoy Manor. The whole incidence had been quite strange and it was best to just try to   
forget that it had happened. Speaking of which, Ron muttered the reverse transformation   
charm under his breath and felt some of the tension leave as he felt his bones returning to   
their natural shape. Thank goodness the reverse transformation was never as violent as   
the first transformation.   
  
"Ron, there's something I really should tell you about that potion you took. I actually   
should have told you before." Hermione was trying hard not to get distracted by the way   
Ron's features were rearranging themselves. The effect was rather unsettling. "The   
potion has been known to sometimes modify the feelings and emotions of the person   
taking it and we were just hoping that you were doing ok."   
  
Ron had gone instantly still and his eyes were now narrowed dangerously. "How do you   
mean modify, Hermione?"   
  
"Well, it's not really well understood. People are affected differently emotionally and to   
different degrees. They also tend to be more impulsive. You didn't do anything stupid,   
did you?" Hermione was trying to look anywhere but at Ron's face but when she did   
look up she saw that he had gone an alarming shade of purple. His jaw was clenched and   
as she watched him his face slowly changed to white and then red. Then he burst out   
laughing. "I'm sorry, Ron. I really should have told you." Ron continued laughing   
hysterically and Hermione was almost afraid he was going to start choking if he didn't   
stop soon.   
  
When the laughing fit seemed to have finally subsided Hermione looked down saying,   
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have let you take the potion. I should have just gone myself."   
Ron looked completely startled at this suggestion. Then, as a picture formed in Ron's   
mind of Hermione clasped passionately in Draco's embrace he felt the hilarity   
overwhelm him again and doubled up with laughter. He really should have been totally   
pissed about the whole thing but it was so just so utterly ridiculous. He barely heard   
Hermione say, "I'm sure the effect should wear off quickly now that you're back in your   
own body again."   
  
Hermione was looking a combination of put out and worried and was startled, therefore,   
when Ron, having considered what he really thought about Draco and Hermione together,   
sobered suddenly and stood up saying, "No, I really don't like that thought actually." As   
he started walking towards the door Hermione heard him mutter, "And it had better wear   
off quickly."   
  
Hermione's mind foundered in confusion for a moment so that all she could get out was,   
"Don't forget we still need to get Blaise back into Slytherin with all the right memories,"   
before Ron walked out the door.   
  
After he had gone Harry slipped into the bathroom, having decided not to say anything to   
Ron at this present moment. The look on Ron's face was just to weird to come with   
anything to say, especially after the way he had acted earlier. "So, how do you think he's   
doing?"   
  
"I'm not sure," Hermione's forehead was starting get tired from wearing this perpetual   
look of worry. "When I told him about the side effect he turned different colors and then   
burst out laughing. I think he's gone a bit nuts. Let's hope the Malfoys didn't suspect   
anything." 


	20. …Harry teeters dangerously on the Edge o...

20. …Harry teeters dangerously on the Edge of Sanity   
  
"Oh, I found this morning's paper," Harry said suddenly remembering and pulling out a   
copy of the Daily Prophet. He unfolded it carefully and presented it to Hermione. Harry   
wasn't sure what the paper could possibly say, but he avoided looking at it anyway.   
Harry didn't know if he could take any more Bad News.   
  
Hermione looked at the front page and Gasped. A real, honest-to-god gasp. It sounded   
like her heart had leapt up into her throat and had begun constructing its dream home.  
Harry didn't even bother asking why, he just grabbed the paper and peered at it.  
  
The biggest photo on the front page was the predictable shot of the Malfoy council room   
in a state of chaos. Lucius Malfoy kept running in and out of the picture yelling at   
random people, and a woman in a green feathered dress kept fainting dead away, getting   
up, and then fainting again. The wreckage was awesome.  
  
However, it was a very small photo towards the bottom of the page that really caught   
Harry's attention. The headline read "Malfoy Heir involved with Down-and-out Zabini:   
Gold Digging?" Shockingly enough, the photo showed Blaise and Draco in a passionate   
embrace, her dress pushed down to her waist. Harry was extremely glad that wizard   
photos didn't come with sound.  
  
At that moment, Ron scooted in. He seemed in remarkably good spirits. "I've given   
Blaise her fake memories and put her back in her room. She should wake up in…." he   
trailed off, seeing Harry and Hermione staring at him with identical expressions of   
disgust. "Oh no, you saw the paper, didn't you?"  
  
  
Draco, sprawled haphazardly on a black leather couch in the imposing family room,   
regarded the paper with interest. His father was still running around and threatening   
random people by owl. Draco wasn't sure if Lucius was angrier about the explosion or   
the fact that a Daily Prophet reporter had been sneaking around their party. Draco wasn't   
particularly bothered by the photo of himself, although it was certainly in questionable   
taste. He knew that Blaise wasn't dating him for his money. Both of them were aware   
that their relationship was based mainly on physical attraction and would surely dissolve   
when one of them felt the need to move on. Hell, they hardly even talked, and here the   
newspaper was saying that they intended to marry. Shows the quality of the Daily   
Prophet, he thought cynically, and tossed it across the room.  
  
There was one small thing that was bothering him, and it currently rested in his shirt   
pocket. Last night during the explosion something had nailed him in the forehead. He had   
retrieved the object from the floor and stuck it in his pocket to examine later. It wasn't   
until a few minutes ago that he remembered and pulled it out – a silver earring, melted   
into an almost unrecognizable shape. It seemed utterly harmless, he thought, peering   
closely at it. Suddenly it seemed to…grow warm? That was strange. He held it up to his   
face and was startled to hear a faint sound emitting from the silver. It sounded almost like   
he was underwater…wait, was that Harry Potter?  
  
Draco would have sworn that the answering voice belonged to that Mudblood Granger:   
"…side effect … burst out laughing … gone a bit nuts…Malfoys didn't suspect   
anything."  
  
Draco felt very strange. He was angry, but also…oddly excited. He felt justified in   
having suspicions. What on Earth had Harry Potter and his friends done to Blaise?  
  
The next comment from the earring was agonizingly clear: "I've given Blaise her fake   
memories and put her back in her room. She should wake up in…Oh no, you saw the   
paper, didn't you?"  
  
Weasley, Draco thought, his hands clenching into fists. I should have known. He could   
feel cold, deadly anger running though all parts of his body, but instead of obeying his   
impulses and kicking something, here merely raised a hand and summoned a house elf.  
  
"Get me a carriage," he said imperiously to the diminutive servant. "I forgot something at   
school."  
  
  
"OH MY GOD," Hermione screeched at the top of her lungs, her hands wadded up in   
Ron's sweater. If Ron weighed a big less, she probably would have lifted him off his feet.   
Harry was opening and closing his mouth like a fish, and his eyes looked glassy.  
  
"Hermione…let go of me! Let me explain!" Ron said helplessly, flailing his arms in a   
wild manner. Hermione glared at him and shoved him backwards. He fell into an open   
stall and hit his head on the closed toilet, yelping from the pain. He heard a faint giggling   
from inside the toilet that sounded suspiciously like Moaning Myrtle. Ron scrambled to   
his feet and emerged, walking to the opposite side of the bathroom away from the stalls.  
  
"Harry…Hermione…" he said pleadingly. "You don't understand. I had to. I didn't have   
a choice!" Harry seemed to have gotten over his shock and was shaking with silent, guilty   
laughter. Ron scowled at him. "It was just that one time! Honest! We didn't…um….go   
all the way."   
  
Inwardly, Ron added lying to his best friends to his list of sins that included lust and   
gluttony and extreme competitiveness at Wizard's Monopoly.  
  
"Well, that's good, at least," Hermione admitted, looking the tiniest bit relieved. She still   
had a dangerous glint in her eyes that Ron didn't much care for. Suddenly, Ron   
remembered something.  
  
"And while we're on the subject, why did you guys tell Professor Snape that I'm a slut?"   
he demanded.  
  
At this, Harry lost all composure. He collapsed to the tiled floor, wheezing and clutching   
his stomach like he was in excruciating pain. Tears began to trickle down his face and he   
let out several cackles. Hermione kicked him.  
  
"Why…" Harry managed to choke out, "did I spend a whole day with Snape in the   
Swamp? Why am I covered with hives from kappa venom and why is part of my hair   
missing? WHY?"  
  
Ron threw up his hands in defeat. "Why don't we just forget that the whole thing ever   
happened?! Let's destroy Hermione's table and maybe that will kill the spell."  
  
"Fine," Hermione pronounced. "Now let's go to dinner. I'm hungry." She shot another   
glare at Harry, who seemed to be teetering dangerously on the edge of sanity. 


	21. …Draco forces a Confrontation

21. …Draco forces a Confrontation  
  
After a subdued dinner, the four Gryffindors returned to their common room.   
  
"Lumos," Hermione mumbled, seeing that all of the candles had for some reason been put   
out.  
  
Ron slumped into an overstuffed chair and propped his feet on an end table. He planned   
to wait here while Hermione blew up her table, hoping that he could get some rest. He   
hadn't had much sleep over the weekend. Thinking of why brought a red flush to his   
cheeks. It was strange, but thinking of Draco now brought a mixture of anger and   
amusement but none of the physical passion that had been present the last few days. At   
least he could safely assume that he wouldn't try to undress Draco the next time he saw   
him.   
  
"Glad you're all here," a voice drawled from the couch in front of the fireplace. The   
owner of the voice stood up and turned around: Draco Malfoy.  
  
Of course, Ron thought. Why wouldn't Draco be here? It makes perfect sense.  
  
Draco strode angrily into the center of the room. Ron noted that he was wearing a rather   
ostentatious cape of emerald green but thought it best not to say anything. Harry and   
Hermione were ominously silent, and Ginny's eyes looked like that had grown to the size   
of Quaffles. Without saying a word, Draco held up his hand and revealed the object in it   
– a small silver earring.  
  
  
Severus Snape shrugged out of his voluminous black robes and strode around his   
chambers clad only in a skintight pair of black silk pants. His emotions were in turmoil   
and he felt like he should do something to relieve his stress. Lucius Malfoy was in a snit,   
the Death Eaters were frantically trying to find the source of the explosion, and he still   
hadn't figured out just why Ron Weasley had been present at the party.  
  
Snape knew all about the deception. It was obvious to him that the stolen ingredients   
could only have been used for one specific potion. Then, before the party, Snape had   
brewed and drunk a very powerful Clear Sight potion of his own devising that would   
hopefully make clear Lucius' diabolical plans. Instead, it had revealed Ron Wealey to   
him. In more ways than one, he thought disgustedly, trying his hardest not to replay the   
scene that had greeted him when he found Draco and Ron in that stupid little room.  
  
Snape knew the punishment for making the extended Polyjuice Potion, but he didn't   
intend to turn the three Gryffindors in. In fact, he had been hopeful that they would figure   
out the plan themselves. Clearly he had overestimated their skill at both potion making   
and reasonable thought.  
  
Gnawing on a long, hard piece of black licorice, Snape turned the problem over and over   
in his mind. Obviously there was some connection between the explosion and Ron's   
presence in the Malfoy's home. Now what was it?  
  
  
  
  
"You bastard! I was frantically searching for that and you had it all along?!" Ron yelled   
without thinking. Realizing his mistake he clenched his jaws together, hoping that this   
would keep him from revealing anything else. Nonetheless, a very distinct "Shit,"   
escaped from between his teeth. It was at this point that everyone in the room had   
stopped and was now staring at him, all expressions equally stormy.   
  
Ron was trying to decide who looked scarier. Ginny was out, because she was Ginny and   
thus could never look the scariest. Actually, she just looked frightened. But it was a toss   
up between the other three. It was at this point that Draco apparently mastered himself   
enough to speak.   
  
"What did you say!?" Draco was by now white and his teeth were obviously clenched.   
"That was YOU?!" With this he lunged forward, grabbing Ron by the front of the shirt   
and slamming him up against the wall. Ron's toes barely touched the floor. "What did   
you do to her? Tell me right this instant or by God I'll kill you right here." Ron was   
mute. At the instant of Draco's touch he felt something lurch deep in his gut. It wasn't   
the attraction that he had felt as Blaise but it was much too far akin for Ron's comfort.   
  
The shock of it, or something like it, apparently showed in his eyes because Draco   
suddenly dropped him as if he were contaminated and leveled his wand. "Tell me what is   
going on right now and what you have done to Blaise or your friend will not live to see   
the morrow," he snarled, turning towards Harry, Hermione and Ginny, who all just   
looked stunned.   
  
  
  
Professor Snape stopped pacing as a course of action finally settled into his brain. It was   
obvious that he was going to have to talk to those brats of Gryffindors. As much as he   
hated Harry and loved torturing him with kappa hunting expeditions and the like they   
were essentially on the same side and needed to pool their resources. "As limited as   
those might be," he grumbled to himself, heading for the door.   
  
  
  
Hermione was at a loss as to what to say. She was furious at Ron for revealing what he   
had but right now they just needed to concentrate on getting themselves out of this mess.   
Draco was clearly dangerous but also confused. Considering that picture in the Daily   
Prophet he hadn't suspected anything at the time but now she was unsure how much   
leeway any lies she might tell would have. She decided some measure of the truth would   
be needed and maybe they could hope to get the upper hand if Draco became distracted at   
some point. Looking at her friends she realized that Harry and Ginny weren't going to be   
much help and Ron was looking completely closed off.   
  
Hermione took a deep breath. "Don't worry. Blaise is completely unharmed." Draco   
appeared to relax a notch at this, but his face was still as a mask of stone and the wand   
leveled at Ron never faltered. "We kept her unconscious while Ron took a potion to look   
like her and went to your house to try and gain information on what the Death Eaters   
planned to do to Harry."   
  
Draco didn't move. Hermione was starting to try to think of a way that they might   
overwhelm him and administer a memory charm when he finally spoke. "So it was Ron   
the entire time?" Draco's voice held a hysterical edge and his eyes had narrowed to a   
terrifyingly murderous expression. His face had somehow managed to turn red and green   
at the same time, almost, Hermione thought idly, like a Christmas tree. 


	22. …Snape aids the Situation

22. …Snape aids the Situation.   
  
It was at this point that Harry decided to jump into the conversation. Holding up the   
Daily Prophet as some sort of demented visual aid he said, "Just remember he was just   
trying to act the part he was playing." This thought was clearly too much for Harry and   
the last came out as a squeak. Now he just stood there shaking from the obvious effort of   
holding in his laughter. "At least you too didn't go all the way, aye Malfoy," he gasped   
before sitting down on the couch with a thump, clutching his sides. Clearly the   
seriousness of the situation had escaped him.   
  
Draco was not amused. His eyes were narrowed and his lip was curling back in a snarl.   
"Shows how much you know, doesn't it Potter?" he spat. Harry's eyes had barely   
enough time to register shock before Draco swung his wand, a long string of complicated   
syllables spilling from his mouth. Before they knew it, Harry, Hermione and Ginny were   
lined up on the couch, unable to move or think. Hermione would have been impressed   
with the precision of the spell if it weren't for…well, everything else. Ron had started to   
his feet and Hermione was wondering why Draco hadn't included him in the spell.   
  
  
  
Professor Snape strode down the corridor, black robes swishing along the stone and eyes   
flashing determinately.  
  
  
  
Ron climbed slowly to his feet. "Now Draco, don't do anything rash." Ron was trying to   
sound calming but really he was at a loss as what to do. The extreme mess of the   
situation just about overwhelmed him and he found himself fervently wishing that he was   
still a girl so he could just faint. But fainting was not an option, because Draco was now   
turning slowly to face him.   
  
Draco was just beginning to advance, his teeth bared in a snarl and his wand raised   
menacingly, when Severus Snape strode into the room. "Oh, what sort of mess do we   
have here?" Snape muttered to himself before uttering a spell that sounded remarkably   
similar to the one Draco had used previously. Ron and Draco were now sitting stiffly on   
the couch across from the others. "Have I come at a bad time?" Snape inquired with a   
sneer before propping himself on the arm of a chair.   
  
He stared at the group intently before appearing to reach a decision. "You two will, I'm   
sure, be of little help at the moment and I'm sure you have things to…" here he paused to   
curl his lip in disgust, "work out." He then raised his wand and Ron found himself   
sailing backward into a room off the common and landing with a thud on his back. He   
scrambled to his feet, realizing as he did that Snape had removed the curse and that Draco   
was in the room with him just as the door slammed with a very final sounding bang.   
  
Draco stormed to the door and gave it a hard kick. It didn't even have the decency to   
shudder beneath the blow and Draco turned, fury evident in his eyes. "You sick bastard,   
this is all your fault," he screamed lunging for Ron and knocking him to the ground. Ron   
would have said something in protest but Draco's hands were now locked about his throat   
and all of his energy was being used to try to get free.   
  
Draco finally let go and stood, shaking with rage and towering over Ron as he tried to get   
his breath back. "Give me one reason I shouldn't hex you into the next world for what   
you've done."   
  
"Professor Snape took our wands?" Ron knew that levity was out of place at the present   
moment but the statement was also quite true. What was also true was that he wasn't   
sure how he was going to live after the mess that was this weekend and such lack of life   
ambition was making him indifferent to the consequences of his words.   
  
"How could you…Why did you…" The edge to Draco's anger seemed to be slipping   
away and he was starting to look merely shaken. "..and even with my father? The   
thought is just revolting."   
  
"I don't know." Ron himself was starting to feel drained. "I suppose if we really wanted,   
we could blame it all on Hermione. She very thoughtfully neglected to mention that the   
potion has an effect on your emotions. But what's the point in blaming her anyway? I'm   
not even sure that my having known would have helped all that much. It was like, being   
in that body, I was completely helpless against…..a touch."  
  
Draco muttered something not fit for polite conversation. Then he said, "I hope you know   
that I'm never eating turkey sandwiches again. Ever." He kicked the door once more to   
punctuate his sentence and stalked over to Ron, clearly out for the kill.  
  
"Hey, it wasn't my idea," Ron inched as close to the wall as he could get. "None of it was   
my idea! I had to go along so you wouldn't suspect anything!"  
  
Draco had raised a fist as if to punch Ron, but thoughtfully lowered it, a sick smile on his   
face. "I just realized that you haven't told me why you broke into my house. And it must   
have been something important, because you endured seeing my father naked for the   
privilege."  
  
Ron gulped, trying to shut out the image of a very naked Lucius Malfoy dribbling   
chocolate sauce over Blaise's nude body. (Ron had been very surprised – he had always   
thought of Lucius as compact and stocky, but under his robes, he was wiry and thin and   
remarkably hairless. But of course, now is not the time for such musings.)  
  
"We were…ummm…" Ron wracked his already-taxed brain for a plausible excuse.  
  
  
"…and that's it," Hermione finished meekly. She had told Snape the truth. Harry was   
impressed. Clearly Hermione was better at telling the truth than at making up lame   
excuses.  
  
Snape had been drumming his fingers on the arm of his chair. At the end of Hermione's   
story, he suddenly turned to Ginny and narrowed his eyes at her, as if to determine what   
part she had played in the whole matter. Ginny squeaked and buried her face in Harry's   
shoulder.  
  
"You have neglected," Snape drawled, "to mention whether or not you learned anything   
of use."  
  
"Not a thing," Hermione admitted. "We screwed up the spell, which caused the   
explosion."  
  
"This is why Gryffindors can't be trusted to gather information," said Snape, "they   
blunder into a course of action without learning any of the finer points of what they're   
doing." Snape stood up suddenly. "There is only one thing to do. We will destroy that   
table. Then we will perform a memory charm on young Mr. Malfoy to erase his   
knowledge of this plot. I am still unsure what we should do about explaining things to   
Lucius…."   
  
Deep inside, Harry was wondering what horrible price they would have to pay for   
Snape's aid in this situation. He could almost smell the swamp right now.  
  
  
"Accchh…nnnnn…" Ron struggled, but Draco's hands around his throat made speech   
difficult, to say the least. He raised his legs and kicked Draco solidly in the stomach.   
Draco went flying and landed heavily on the ground with a string of obscenities, then   
quickly hopped up, clutching his pained abdomen. Ron, deciding that offense was the   
best defense, lunged for Draco and managed to knock him to the ground once again.   
Draco pulled a Judo-esque move on him and they rolled around together, finally   
knocking up against the wall. And then, the unexpected happened. Draco leaned over and   
smashed his lips to Ron's. Ron's eyes widened as he tried to decide…what…to do! 


	23. …Draco and Ron are Unwilling to Elaborat...

Author's Note: Thank you for all the wonderful reviews I've been getting! I'm glad to   
know that people like this ridiculous little story. ^_^ Don't be afraid to leave criticism   
also, because it helps improve the writing quality.  
  
  
23. …Draco and Ron are Unwilling to Elaborate  
  
Snape had been staring at the fire for several minutes, deep in thought. "Hmm, well,   
anyway," he roused himself. "Ginny, Hermione, why don't you two go and fetch Miss   
Granger's table. Mr. Potter and myself will go fetch the other two. That is, assuming   
they haven't killed each other by now."   
  
  
  
Almost against his will Ron found himself relaxing into the by now familiar sensation of   
Draco's lips against his own. What the HELL was going on? His mind was starting to   
slip away from him again and he was noticing the fact that Draco's kiss had lost none of   
its potency, even if it was a bit rougher this time. Damn Hermione! She had said that the   
effect was supposed to wear off! Ron tried counting to ten to try to maintain some grip   
on his sanity but he could feel the length of Draco pressed against him and got lost   
somewhere around three. "Nnngh gnnh," he managed to mumble, at the same time   
opening his mouth a bit wider than was perhaps wise at that present moment.   
  
Draco pulled away and looked at Ron with a slight frown. "What was that?"   
  
Ron sat up. "I said, 'You bastard, I can't think when you do that.'"   
  
"And why is that?" Draco narrowed his eyes. "I thought you said you were just playing   
along so that I wouldn't get suspicious."   
  
"And I thought you said you would never eat another turkey sandwich again but I   
wouldn't be surprised if you pulled one out of your pocket this very moment." Ron was   
doing his best to scowl but he didn't think it was working very well. Draco made a sound   
in the back of his throat that sounded suspiciously like a growl before lunging towards   
Ron, seizing the back of his head and pressing him against the wall. His lips bore down   
hungrily on Ron's and Ron felt his own hands wandering to slip under Draco's shirt   
when there came a sound from the latch on the door.   
  
By the time Professor Snape stepped through the door the two boys were sitting at   
opposite ends of the room, staring intently at the door as if they had been doing so the   
entire time. "Turkey Sandwich?" Snape inquired. The two just stared at him. Ron could   
just see Harry standing behind the Professor looking puzzled. "Well, since you seem   
unwilling to elaborate, I suggest you come out into the common room so that we can   
straighten this whole mess out."   
  
The two boys rose and filed past Snape's sneering eye and into the common room. As   
Draco past him, Snape laid a heavy hand on his shoulder and guided him to sit down in a   
straight-backed chair. Ron perched warily on the arm of a couch as Harry went up to   
help Hermione and Ginny maneuver the table down the stairs. After a few moments it   
was set up in the center of the room.   
  
Snape then held his hand out in front of Draco, "The earring, Mr. Malfoy." Draco   
handed over the misshapen lump of silver, grumbling something presumably nasty under   
his breath. "Mr. Malfoy," Snape said, setting the earring on the table and taking a chair   
across from Draco. "I expect by now you have realized that I am not, in fact, in league   
with the Death Eaters and that this, and the clumsy Gryffindor plot to gather information,   
are both things that your father would dearly like to know. However, we, obviously, can   
not let you leave with this information and so shall, of course, be erasing these facts from   
your memory before I return you to your father." At this Draco looked particularly   
hostile. Snape continued, unperturbed, "So, unless you have something particularly   
interesting to say, we shall get started at once."   
  
Draco lifted his chin haughtily. "I do have something to say, actually," he said, glancing   
around at the as yet silent Gryffindors. "You can erase my memory of these events and   
thereby remove me from the picture, but what about my father? There is still the small   
matter of a rather large explosion at the ball last night. My father, and I'm sure Ron can   
attest to this, will not be easily turned from determining what and who is responsible."   
  
"And your point is?" Snape was starting to look annoyed.   
  
"My point is, if you promise to leave me alone, I will help you and provide you with a   
plausible explanation for my father." Draco was now looking insufferably smug. Ron   
was confused by this turn of events but rather curious as to how it would turn out.   
  
"And why should we trust you?!" Harry was on his feet, his patience apparently worn   
quite thin by Malfoy's annoying attitude.   
  
"Sit down, Harry." Professor Snape was rubbing his temples wearily. "He does have a   
good point though, Draco. For what reason should we possibly trust you and why would   
you be willing to do this in the first place?"   
  
"Oh, I'm sure you have some spell or incantation that can hold me to my word," Draco   
practically sneered. Snape nodded his head, conceding that this was true. "And as for   
why; I have always hated Harry Potter, but that has nothing to do with the Death Eater   
cause, about which I have never cared too deeply. My father would no doubt love to   
have this information but the man can be rather an asshole and, seeing as he wouldn't be   
getting hold of what I know anyway, I see nothing appealing in having my mind   
tampered with just to keep it from him."   
  
"Hmmm, having never liked the man myself, I can see your point."   
  
"You're not honestly going to listen to him, are you?" Harry was starting to turn red.   
  
"I believe I told you to sit down Mr. Potter, or shall I bind you to your chair?" Harry sat.   
Snape turned back to Draco. "And it is true that the first vow uttered after drinking an   
infusion of wolfsbane mixed with powdered dragon claws is binding. Hmmm." Snape   
stared around at the Gryffindors, daring them to speak. None did. "An interesting   
proposition, Mr. Malfoy. But is there any substance to it? What, exactly, might we tell   
your father that would get him to drop the matter?"   
  
"Oh, that's simple." Draco sat back in his chair, now looking supremely confident. "Just   
tell him that someone put a mind control spell on me to plant the explosives in the   
council chamber and sabotage the ball. I'll support you and say that you found me in the   
dungeon, supposedly after ingredients for some other sabotage. After you removed the   
curse, I remembered being accosted in the carriage on my way to pick up Blaise but have   
no memory of anything else. I was very grateful for your assistance." Draco smiled   
evilly. "What do you think?"   
  
Professor Snape was gnawing on his cuticles, thinking. "Hmm, we'd have to work out   
the details a little better but it just might work and keep Lucius from suspecting anything   
of the truth. Very well, you'll stay with me tonight and I'll brew that potion, binding you   
to your word. In the morning I'll take you over to your father." Snape stood and   
gestured toward the table. "Now, let's take care of these things shall we." With a   
muttered incantation and a graceful swish and flick, the table turned into ash and   
dissolved into an oily puddle on the floor. A sickly sweet smell hung in the air and a mild   
wind blew through the room. Hermione glowered at the remnants of her destroyed   
furniture. 


	24. …Snape is impressed by Hermione’s work

Author's Note: Thank you once again for all of the reviews! I'm always hesitant to write   
more until I know what people think of the story so far. I guess that makes me a bit of a   
review whore, huh? Anyway, enjoy these next few chapters.  
  
24. …Snape is impressed by Hermione's work  
  
  
"No! No no no NOOO!" Harry's violent side was out in force. "Did you all understand   
me? NO!" He actually fell off of the desk he was perched on because he was so angry.  
  
"Harry, shut up," Hermione said plainly. "We have to trust Draco on this one. He doesn't   
like his father any more than we do, okay?" Draco, and Professor Snape stared open-  
mouthed at Harry, who had begun pacing about the Potions classroom. Ginny and Ron   
sat in desks at the very back of the room, trying to avoid the waves of wrath emanating   
from the slight, black haired boy.  
  
"We should have just trusted Sirius!" Harry whined. Draco snickered, but was quickly   
silenced by a deadly glare from Professor Snape. The group had just finished fine-tuning   
the story that Draco would tell his father, and it seemed plausible that Lucius would buy   
the whole thing. Harry, however, was not taking things well. He was entirely too used to   
pig-headedly taking on danger by himself and could not stand the idea of letting others   
risk their lives for him.  
  
"I think I'm going to bed," Ginny announced, standing up. She practically ran out the   
door.  
  
"As you all should," Snape said in a tired voice. "As much as I hate to do this, I am going   
to have to ask Miss Granger to stay up and assist me with the potion, as she is the only   
one of the lot of you who isn't likely to botch it up." At this, Harry's anger evaporated   
and he high-tailed it out of the room in his gladness to escape more alone time with   
Snape, grabbing Ron by the neck and dragging him along. Draco shrugged and, tapping   
the stone in the wall that Snape had shown him, made his way through the secret door   
that opened and into Snape's private quarters. The door slammed shut behind him.  
  
The frown lines in Snape's forehead relaxed a little bit with the exit of most of the   
meddlesome students from his classroom. "Alright, please go into my storeroom and get   
the wolfsbane, dragons claw, Australian beetle shells, a mortar and pestle, some tongs…"   
he listed off five or six more ingredients from memory. "I trust you know where   
everything is in there," he said with great sarcasm.  
  
Hermione hurried to the storeroom and collected the required ingredients. Although she   
did not relish working with Professor Snape, part of her was oddly pleased that he trusted   
her enough to assist him with such a difficult potion. She came back and arranged them   
carefully on his desk, taking great care to ignore the box of kappa hides that she had   
helped prepare.  
  
Snape dictated instructions to her, allowing Hermione to do most of the manual labor   
while he measured and handled the dangerous ingredients. She pounded dragon's claw to   
a fine, translucent powder, made a decoction of beetle shells and 200-year old whiskey   
(she didn't ask why it had to be that particular age), and diced yew root until her hands   
hurt. Several hours later, Snape announced that the next step was to simmer the potion for   
twenty minutes. Hermione gratefully slumped into a chair.  
  
Snape examined the bubbling cauldron, an oddly pleased smile on his face. "He's   
enjoying this," Hermione thought unkindly. She watched him closely, analyzing his   
expression. His hair didn't seem as greasy as usual, she noted with surprise. It looked like   
he had had a little bit of sun over the break as well, because his skin wasn't its usual   
sallow tone.  
  
After ten or so minutes of silence, Snape put down his silver stirring implement and   
spoke. "I am pleased with your work. The beetle decoction should have been a bit   
stronger, but it will suffice."  
  
"I…uh…" Hermione didn't know what to say to praise from the man who had once   
cruelly mocked her teeth in front of a group of students. "Thank you?" She supposed she   
should stand up and start cleaning the phials and such, but her head was suddenly feeling   
a bit woozy, and the room seemed to be slightly smaller than she remembered it. There   
was also a delicious smell in the air.  
  
Snape noticed the same symptoms, thinking frantically. They certainly did not come from   
the potion that was brewing – it had basically no side effects. Could it be the side effects   
of the amplifier spell? Suddenly, he couldn't remember what explosion he was talking   
about. A nagging thought persisted in the back of his mind that had something to do with   
silver, but he couldn't remember what it was…  
  
Hermione stood up drunkenly and began to make her way over to the desk. She teetered   
precariously on her feet and Snape rushed over to catch her before she fell. She toppled   
him over and landed on top of him in an inelegant sprawl. Snape could feel various   
feminine attributes against parts of his body that he shouldn't be thinking about, but   
somehow his hands were cradling her head and she was kissing him furiously, ripping at   
his robes. Helpless against the flood of sensation, he began removing her sweater and   
shirt.  
  
  
Draco awoke with a start from a nightmare in which Blaise had been riding a black horse   
and goading her armies of tiny Lucius Malfoys on him, their thousands of miniscule legs   
kicking him all over his body. He tried to get out of bed, but felt too woozy to stand and   
collapsed to the floor.  
  
Asleep elsewhere in the castle, Ron, Harry, and Ginny were impervious to the effects that   
being in such close proximity to the burst of energy the table had given off when it was   
destroyed.   
  
  
Hermione's eyes fluttered open slowly. Something felt wrong. She quickly realized that   
the annoying sensation she was feeling was a glass beaker digging into her back.  
  
Wait a minute…where am I? She frantically looked around her. As far as she could tell,   
she was in the Potions classroom. But why was there a large, warm, male body lying   
under her? She turned and looked at her sleeping companion on the floor, and screamed. 


	25. …Harry is not in the least bit Mollified

25. …Harry is not in the least bit Mollified  
  
Lucius Malfoy tapped his cane against his shoe pensively. His investigations into the   
explosion had come to naught, and he was feeling excessively frustrated. Seducing his   
son's girlfriend had been enjoyable but brief, and he felt that he needed some release for   
his energies. He toyed with the idea of going outside and annoying Draco's water dragon,   
but it wasn't old enough yet to put up a really big fuss.   
  
Yes, he thought to himself, life was boring. The only good part of the last week or so had   
been putting out that rumor that Voldemort had a new and cunning plan to attack Harry   
Potter. Everybody at Hogwarts was probably frantic trying to figure out what it was, and   
the Death Eaters could use the time to continue their current activity, which was quietly   
embezzling from various branches of the Ministry of Magic. Certainly they would love to   
do real damage to Potter, but for now, money was necessary and more important. This   
"fake plot" idea was working wonders for their bank accounts.  
  
Suddenly, he got an idea. He summoned an owl and wrote a hurried letter, signing it with   
a flourish.  
  
  
An owl swooped into Blaise Zabini's room and deposited a letter on her bed. She ceased   
brushing her hair, which was unnaturally tangled, and gingerly opened it, noting the wax   
seal with the "M" and entwined Malfoy serpents. That was odd. It was very unlike   
Draco to contact her so soon since she'd already seen him earlier that day. Her memories   
of the weekend were fuzzy but the gist of them definitely suggested that Draco wouldn't   
be motivated to talk to her for a while.   
  
It was at this point that a small bundle of herbs fell out of the letter, their smell wafting up   
and tickling her nose. Blaise passed out. A few minutes later the window flew open and   
a cloaked figure stepped out of the night and into the room.   
  
  
  
Ron awoke to someone jostling his shoulder. "Wha…" he mumbled sleepily, rolling   
over to see who was there. Draco stood by the side of his bed, swaying slightly and   
looking quite groggy.   
  
"Move over Weasley." Draco shoved at his shoulder again and Ron shifted over, his   
brain too asleep to have much of any comment on the situation.   
  
"I thought you were supposed to be staying in Snape's rooms," Ron murmured as Draco   
settled next to him on the bed, one arm draping over him, heavy with sleep.   
  
"It smelled weird in there." Draco sighed, shifting into a more comfortable position.   
Ron was almost asleep again so he only barely registered the rest of Draco's response,   
"And Professor Snape and Hermione were making too much noise." The last was barely   
audible and soon both boys were snoring.   
  
  
  
Hermione was backed up against the wall, her robe clutched to her front. She was staring   
wide-eyed at Professor Snape and making muffled screaming sounds whenever he tried   
to come near. "Hermione, calm down. We need to figure out what happened." Severus   
had his robe tied sloppily around his waist and was approaching Hermione with one hand   
raised as though she were a trapped animal. Snape would have been in shock himself,   
but they needed at least one brain functioning.   
  
Hermione sank to the floor and started shaking. Snape quickly grabbed his cloak that   
was hanging on the back of the door and wrapped it around Hermione's shoulders before   
backing away. He could understand if she didn't want him touching her. He was feeling   
pretty much the same. "Madame Pomfrey gave me some tea to drink whenever I was   
feeling stressed. How about I brew some of that up? It's very soothing." Hermione just   
nodded mutely, staring at the floor, and Snape moved off to his storage closet to fetch the   
tea. While he was in there he put his robe on the right way.   
  
Professor Snape was putting the kettle on to boil when he noticed the potion they had   
been brewing. "Shit. What time is it?" He glanced hurriedly at the clock, quickly   
removing the potion from the burner. "Shit!" he swore again vehemently. It had been a   
little over two hours and by the now the potion would be nearly strong enough to kill   
someone who even thought about breaking their word. In all good conscience he could   
not give it to Draco.   
  
He jumped when the kettle screamed that it was ready for the tea. Damn, this was   
shaping up to be a very long night.   
  
  
  
"Whaaaa…" Consciousness slowly dawned in Blaise Zabini's mind. She was warm and   
comfortable and lying on what felt like soft silk sheets. Something was tickling her   
stomach. Her eyes fluttered open and she looked up to see Lucius Malfoy bending over   
her and running a fluffy white feather up and down her very nude length. "Hello," she   
said, smiling sleepily. She remembered that it was fun to be with Lucius.   
  
"I'm glad to see you're awake, my dear." Lucius paused the feather in mid-stroke and   
looked up to give Blaise a very sultry smile. "I hope you don't mind but I've invited you   
up one of my little abodes I have tucked in the hills near Hogwarts. I thought we could   
spend some more," here he paused to lick Blaise's belly button, "time together."   
  
"Oh I don't mind." Blaise's mind was somewhere, floating happily. "I always liked   
chocolate sauce better than mustard anyway."   
  
Lucius paused, looking puzzled before giving a low chuckle, deep in his throat. "Sounds   
like my son still has a lot to learn," he murmured, abandoning the feather entirely and   
moving up to cover Blaise's body with his own.   
  
  
  
"Aahhhh!" Ron awoke to a blood curdling scream and a broom falling heavily across his   
shoulder.   
  
"Hey, what!" Ron raised his arm over his head as another blow fell. Knowing only that   
he had to get away, Ron started scrambling backwards and got tangled up with Draco,   
who obviously had the same idea but was tangled in the blanket. In a mad flailing of   
limbs the two boys crashed to the floor on the other side of the bed.   
  
Quickly they both scrambled to their feet and backed up against the wall. From this   
vantage point Ron could see that their attacker was a mad banshee of a Harry Potter   
wielding one of his old Quidditch brooms. "Harry!" Ron yelled, holding his hands out   
defensively. "Have you gone insane? What's the matter with you?!"   
  
"What the HELL is he doing here!?" Harry jabbed the broom at a very mussed looking   
Draco Malfoy, who flinched out of the way. Harry himself was beet red and shaking   
with rage. "Just what were you sick bastards up to this time?"   
  
Ron was feeling more than a little confused, but right now the most important thing was   
obviously getting Harry to calm down before he started beating them again. "Harry, it's   
me, remember? Your friend Ron Weasley? And look at us. We're fully clothed.   
Obviously we weren't up to anything." Harry lowered the broom but still looked angry.   
Ron turned to Draco. "Why are you here, exactly?"   
  
Draco was looking angry and puzzled at the same time. He shook his head as though   
trying to clear it and put his hands to his temples. "I can't remember. I think I must have   
been half asleep when I came up here. I just remember wanting somewhere to sleep   
away from the awful smell and the..." Here he paused with his hand over his mouth and   
started shaking with repressed laughter.   
  
"And the what, Malfoy." Harry was clearly not in the least bit mollified.   
  
"The noise," Draco got out before breaking out in a guffaw. Harry and Ron exchanged   
puzzled looks. After a moment Draco straightened, clearing his throat and obviously   
trying to collect himself. "Let's go and see if Snape and Hermione have got that potion   
ready yet, shall we?" He strode purposefully to the door. Ron followed warily with   
Harry trailing behind, still clutching the broom, his confusing obviously winning out over   
his anger for the present moment.   
  
Half way down the stairs Ron realized the 'yet' in Draco's last statement. "Draco, it's   
already morning. I'm sure the potion is ready by now." Draco just snorted and continued   
walking. 


	26. …Lucius and Blaise are engaged in Questi...

26. …Lucius and Blaise are engaged in Questionable Activities   
  
When they got to the potions classroom they found Hermione and Professor Snape   
slumped in chairs across the room from each other, looking haggard. A potion bubbled   
in the cauldron on the burner. "Have a nice night, did we?" Draco's voice sounded   
purely evil and, distracted by the look of fury that crossed Hermione's face, Ron tripped   
over the garbage can by the door. Righting it he saw that it contained mostly crumpled   
papers and scraps of fur but also a long, silver stirring stick.  
  
"Don't touch that!" Hermione and Snape yelled in unison. Ron stared mutely at the   
garbage can and then backed away slowly.  
  
"We've had a…" Snape said, elegantly raising a chipped teacup to his mouth, "small   
setback. But the potion is now ready." He made a face at the taste of the tea. "Dear god,   
this is awful!" Hermione grinned more evilly than anybody would have given her credit   
for, and Draco tried his best to muffle a laughing spell that threatened to shake the very   
foundations of Hogwarts.  
  
Snape tried to glare at the four students, but the effect was mitigated by his robe, which   
had begun to gape open again in the front. Hermione sighed in exasperation and went   
over to the cauldron, ladling a portion into a glass and handing it to Draco. Snape   
muttered an incantation and wove his wand about a few times, then ordered Draco to   
drink. He did so, then sputtered and hacked in complaint.  
  
"This stuff is terrible! What is in it?" Draco whined. Ron and Harry didn't even try to   
stifle the unkind chortles that they were producing. Hermione gave him a Look, and   
Draco mutely downed the rest of the salmon-colored brew.  
  
"Very good," Snape pronounced. "Now all of you need to leave so that I can get some   
sleep. Draco's carriage should be here within the hour."  
  
  
Harry, Hermione, Ron and Ginny solemnly watched the ominous Malfoy carriage roll   
away from Hogwarts.   
  
"I hope this works," Hermione said firmly. "And by the way, we are never brewing any   
potions again, especially the Polyjuice one."  
  
Ron nodded in assent. "Amen. And…umm, Hermione?" Ron peered over Hermione's   
collar. "There's something on your neck, I think." Hermione blushed furiously.  
  
"It's nothing!" she screeched. "Leave me alone!"  
  
  
Draco wandered the capacious halls of Malfoy Manor, searching in vain for a human   
presence. "Hello?" he yelled, "anybody home?" A house elf had told him that Lucius was   
gone "somewhere" and that his mother was supposedly in her suite, but he couldn't find   
her.  
  
Typical, he thought grimly. Usually I try to avoid my parents, but when I need to speak to   
them, they're off "somewhere."  
  
Suddenly, Narcissa Malfoy emerged from the library door as Draco passed it in his   
search. She looked, he thought, like she had just spent the whole morning having her hair   
and nails done.   
  
"If you're looking for your father," Narcissa said, "He's gone to one of his little cabins to   
hunt or whatever it is he does there."  
  
Draco snorted. In other words, he had a feminine conquest that he didn't want to wave   
under Narcissa's nose for some reason.  
  
"Well…I had something I wanted to talk to him about," Draco said. Narcissa's   
expression clearly said that the thought of Draco wanting to talk to his father had never   
crossed her mind.  
  
"I guess I'll just write him a letter," Draco answered himself hastily, and ran off to his   
bedroom.  
  
  
About forty minutes or so later, an owl winged into the bedroom in which Lucius and   
Blaise were currently engaged in activities that involved several silk ropes and a   
blindfold. Lucius sighed when he noticed the return address and tore it open reluctantly.  
  
Father –  
I have uncovered details of the incident in our home that I am sure you wish to know   
about. Please return home at your earliest convenience.  
Draco Malfoy  
  
Lucius groaned and rolled off of Blaise, cursing. Shrugging into his robes, he grabbed his   
cane and hat and was out the door.  
  
"Umm…Lucius?" asked Blaise quietly from her prone and blindfolded position on the   
bed. Her hands were tied to the bedposts. "Lucius?"  
  
When no response was forthcoming, she began to yell. "LUCIUS!! WHERE ARE   
YOU?!?! UNTIE ME NOW YOU BASTARD!"  
  
  
"It's a hickey!" Harry yelled triumphantly. He and Ron had wrestled Hermione to the   
floor. Ginny stood by, gaping.  
  
Hermione smacked him on the face and stood up angrily.  
  
"So! Who gave it to you, eh?" Ron poked her in the side.  
  
Hermione proceeded to tell a very improbable story about Viktor Krum riding his broom   
over from Bulgaria to visit her in the Potions classroom.  
  
  
Severus Snape was not feeling very well. He had eaten an entire box of black licorice and   
a handful of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, but after encountering a toejam flavored   
bean, he spat it out angrily and tossed the rest of them out of the window. He felt only   
mildly guilty about last night – after all, he was acting under the influence of powerful   
magic – but he was having second thoughts about involving any student, be they   
Slytherin or Gryffindor, in any plot against the Death Eaters.   
  
For goodness sakes, he thought, the Gryffindors can't even be trusted to read over a spell   
before putting it into use. And Draco is more interested in girls and clothes than anything   
else.  
  
Dumbledore was, of course, aware of the whole plan. Snape had censored it a wee bit,   
because he didn't want Dumbledore to be kept up at night imagining Draco and Ron in a   
passionate embrace. He also saw no reason why Dumbledore would care to hear about   
his encounter with Miss Granger. Although maybe Dumbledore could perform memory   
charms on both of them so that they couldn't remember last night…but then Dumbledore   
would have to remember. No, that wasn't fair.  
  
Yes, he decided, I have to get all of this off of my mind somehow. He summoned to him   
a black leather bound book and a quill, and removed the various wards placed on it. He   
began to write.  
  
December 29  
  
As usual, I am surrounded by idiots. I caught Professors Sprout and Flitwick in a rather   
compromising position last Tuesday, and have recently became involved in a childish   
plot orchestrated by Harry Potter and Co… 


	27. …Madrid doesn’t care about Draco’s Socia...

27. …Madrid doesn't care about Draco's Social Skills  
  
"So, I should have known that the enemy would use my own son against me." Lucius   
was standing by the window in his study, looking out. He now paused to glance at his   
son, curling his lip in disgust. "You never were strong enough to really stand up to   
anyone, were you Draco? Well, let's just be glad that Snape was there to untangle your   
mind for you. I've had my doubts about that one but as far as Slytherin headmasters go,   
there have been worse."   
  
Draco was slumped in a chair across from his father's desk, his eyes cast subserviently to   
the floor. But where Lucius couldn't see it, Draco allowed an angry sneer of his own to   
twist his lips. "Will that be all, father?" Sometimes Draco truly hated his father and right   
now he was determined to say as little as possible in the hopes that he could keep his   
anger under control.   
  
"Yes, I suppose you can go. But just so you're warned, I'll be tightening security around   
here. I'll be sure that no malignant spell (not of my own devising, obviously) comes   
within a mile of these premises. Oh, and Draco." Draco had stood to leave and now   
paused in the doorway. "I hope you don't mind but I borrowed your girlfriend for a few   
days. Speaking of which, I should probably be off again soon." Lucius smiled a smile   
that clearly said, "I can take whatever I want and there's nothing you can do about it.   
Don't you just hate me for it?"   
  
"Oh, that's ok, Dad," Draco was feeling rather pissy and not about to let his father have   
the last word. "I've finished with her anyway. Just go easy on the chocolate sauce this   
time. Last time it took ages to get it all off her. You really shouldn't be so sloppy." And   
with that he turned, flourishing his emerald cape, and disappeared through the door.   
  
Lucius chuckled quietly as he watched his son go. "Always so hostile," he murmured.   
"You really should learn a little more respect." He tut-tutted to himself as he watched   
Draco stalk across the lawn.   
  
  
  
Ron was thinking about his evil side. It had gotten very little exercise over the course of   
his life and most of it had involved some plot or other of Fred and George's. Lately it   
had gotten a bit more air than usual and Ron was fondly thinking of the fun it was to let it   
run lose once in a while. Right now it was cooking up a lovely plot for a nice bit of some   
Harry Potter revenge, just because Harry had been acting so self-righteous lately and Ron   
thought he could do with a reality check. But he needed a co-conspirator. Revenge plots   
were always better with a co-conspirator. Hermione was sitting in a corner of the   
Gryffindor common room, her nose buried pointedly in a book. Ron sauntered   
innocently over.   
  
  
  
Draco was in an extremely foul mood. He hated Harry Potter. That was true and would   
never change. But there were times when he hated his father far more. The man lived to   
be idly cruel and now he'd gone and done it again. So Draco was off to the one place he   
knew he could calm down and relax. He was off to visit his water dragon.   
  
Most people laughed behind their hands when they heard that Draco kept a dragon. After   
all, it was considered rather tacky to associate so blatantly with symbols of one's own   
name. What they would never know was that in the dragon, whom he called Madrid but   
who insisted it had a much more secret name that it was unwilling to divulge, Draco had   
found one of his very few friends. Madrid didn't care that Draco had unstable social   
skills or that he would never measure up to his father's expectations. With his water   
dragon Draco could just be himself, whoever that was on a particular day.   
  
Draco hurried down to the swamp just adjacent to the lawn surrounding Malfoy Manor.   
He followed a path well trodden by his own footsteps through a copse of trees, where he   
knew he was out of sight of the house. He walked out onto a log that lay fallen in the   
mire and sat down on a branch that stuck up conveniently to wait for Madrid to come.   
  
The swamp air was already starting to make him feel better, and when the dragon showed   
up he greeted it happily, tossing down a hunk of raw meat he had snagged before coming   
down. No, Draco didn't know whether the dragon was male or female. It had never   
come up and didn't seem of much importance, dragons being something else entirely.   
  
Madrid caught the meat in it's sturdy, if small, jaws and rolled happily around in the   
water with it a few times, like a crocodile drowning it's prey, before downing it in one   
large gulp. Draco smiled as it crawled up onto the log beside him, twining its long, scaly   
body around the dead branches. From a distance it could easily be mistaken for a large   
snake but if one were to look more closely one would see that there was nothing   
snakelike about its head, and the scales covering its hide were far too fine for so low a   
beast. They winked, like faded jewels, black and smoky grey and several shades of   
green.   
  
"How are you today, my friend?" Draco asked, for now content to forget about his   
worries with the rest of the world. Madrid had climbed up nearly level with him and now   
Draco stared deeply into its eyes. "You're absolutely right. Today would be an excellent   
day for a swim." And with that Draco began methodically stripping off his clothes,   
fastening them in a neat bundle that he left wedged securely in a crook of some branches.   
  
Completely disregarding the fact that it was the middle of winter, he waded out into the   
bog and sank down into muddy, ice-cold water. Madrid swam over and twined himself   
happily around his friend before swimming away, a call to play. Draco lay back in the   
water and closed his eyes, sinking into the feeling of the winter swamp.   
  
When he opened them, the pupils had gone to slits and his form had shrunk to that of a   
small water dragon. He was smaller by about half than Madrid, though he was still quite   
young so this didn't really bother him, and his scales were an oily blue black. He flicked   
his tongue in a dragon smirk. Not only the cronies of famous wizard's father's could be   
secret animagi. With a flick of his tail he was off to sport with Madrid through the   
swamp. 


	28. …Ron and Hermione form the HOUQC Club

28. …Ron and Hermione form the HOUQC Club   
  
"How's it going, Hermione?" Ron put on his most charmingly innocent smile and sat   
down next to his friend. Hermione studiously ignored him, her nose buried in her book.   
"Your book's upside-down." Ron took the book from Hermione and set it aside.   
  
"What do you want, Ron?" Hermione sounded decidedly cross but Ron was not to be   
deterred. His plan was too deliciously evil, with just enough innocence to make it totally   
unexpected, to not carry it out.   
  
"You and I should form a club, Hermione," Ron said, keeping as straight a face as   
possible. Hermione raised an eyebrow. "It can be called the hickies-obtained-under-  
questionable-circumstances club. Well, bites in my case, but there's really no need to   
split hairs."   
  
Hermione narrowed her eyes. "I thought you said that had something to do with your   
costume for the ball?"   
  
"Yes, well, I think I managed to convince most of the others that that was the case, except   
Draco of course. Which reminds me, I need to think of a good way to get him back for   
that. Hurt like all hell and bled like a sonofabitch."   
  
Hermione looked like she was making a conscious decision to not follow that line of   
thought. She crossed her arms. "Ok, supposing we were to form this club. What would   
be our purpose, our reason for existing, aside from what the title has to offer, of course."   
  
"Oh, this is the best part." Ron felt like rubbing his hands together but felt like that   
would be too clichéd. "Our purpose, our goal, if you will, will be to get back at Harry for   
his complete lack of understanding. He has absolutely no idea of the position we are in   
and I feel that it is our duty to enlighten him."   
  
The corners of Hermione's mouth twitched and she was obviously trying not to smile. "I   
take it you have a plan then. Exactly how evil is it?"   
  
"Actually, it's only slightly evil but I think it's just about right. It's also simple which   
any plan should be if one can possibly manage it." Ron leaned closer to Hermione   
conspiratorially. "It goes like this: After dinner, I'll get Harry drunk. I can think of   
several methods of accomplishing this and I'll just choose whichever one sounds the   
most feasible. I'm sure you know the recipe for a simple aphrodisiac. We'll slip that to   
him as well. Then, we'll lock him in Ginny's room overnight."   
  
Hermione looked dubious. "Ron, have you forgotten? Ginny is your sister. She's   
supposed to be too pure and innocent for you to be involving her in plots such as this."   
  
"She's got you snowed, hasn't she?" Ron shook his head. "You obviously haven't had   
to listen to her all summer go on about the things she'd like to do to him. Harry ignores   
her religiously. Right now I think she'd jump at any chance she got, and gladly."   
Hermione's doubts were still written plainly across her face and Ron sighed. Looking   
around and seeing that Harry was momentarily out of the room, he called over to his   
sister. "Ginny, come over here. We want to ask you something."   
  
Ginny trotted over to the corner, her eyes shining bright innocence. "What's up, guys?"   
she asked brightly.   
  
"Ginny, if we could get Harry soussled and in your room by nine, what would you give   
us?"   
  
Ginny's look of innocence was quickly replaced by one of calculated cunning. "Depends   
on his energy level and state of compliance. Why, what do you want?"   
  
"Oh, just the opportunity." Ron smiled wickedly. Hermione was looking somewhat   
shocked. "We might even be able to manage eight-thirty but I can't promise anything."   
  
  
  
Draco was racing his water dragon along various river channels and drainages when he   
realized that they were actually fairly close to Hogwarts. Hmm, maybe he could pay a   
call on his new 'friends.' There were advantages to looking like an unassuming little   
snake. It definitely increased one's sneaking ability and a nice bout of eavesdropping   
might be just the ticket to cheer him up.   
  
  
  
"Well here he is, quarter to nine. Pretty good, no?" Ron guided Harry into Ginny's room   
and sat him down heavily on the bed. Harry looked dazedly happy.   
  
Ginny, on the other hand, was looking both shrewd and delighted. "Yes, well we'll just   
see. He'll be no good to me if he passes out, now will he?"   
  
"Oh, don't you worry about that," Ron said, stepping out of the room. "I think   
Hermione's pretty well taken care of that. Hey, do you want us to lock the door from the   
outside?"   
  
Ginny bit her lip, looking undecided. "Perhaps you'd better. One less thing to worry   
about after all."   
  
"Ok, have fun," Ron said, closing the door and producing a padlock. He then wandered   
down the stairs to the common room, taking care not to fall. His plan to get Harry drunk   
had involved chess and taking a drink every time your opponent took one of your pieces.   
He was afraid Harry had taken a few more pieces than he'd expected.   
  
In the common room Hermione was sitting, staring dreamily into the fire and petting   
Crookshanks. She swayed slightly as she gazed at the flames and Ron recalled that she   
had had a few drinks herself in her nervousness about their plan. "Looks like she's going   
to turn out to be one of those ever so exciting sleepy drunks," he thought to himself,   
plopping down on a couch.   
  
"Hey, Hermione. Now that our goal is all but accomplished, why don't we talk about   
reasons for being in this 'club.' How in the world did you end up sleeping with Professor   
Snape?"   
  
Hermione turned and blinked at him owlishly. "It was the after effects of that magical   
amplifier spell using silver. It overpowered us. We barely even knew what we were   
doing at the time." She leaned her head on her hand sleepily. "Why? What's your   
excuse?"   
  
Ron thought for a while, his head listing to the side. "Hmmm. I'm going to use as my   
excuse the fact that the Malfoys are such good kissers. It has the ability to overwhelm   
your brain."   
  
"Actually…you can thank my mother for that." Draco stepped out of the shadows,   
totally naked, and sat down gracefully on the couch next to Ron. Ron was in a state   
where very little could surprise him so he just attempted to raise one eyebrow. Draco   
smirked. "She made us practice." Ron successfully raised the other eyebrow.   
"Sometimes on her, but mostly she'd send us off with one of the scullery maids. Started   
when I turned seven. Don't ask me why." A small snore came from Hermione.  
  
Ron turned this over in his mind, trying not to picture a seven-year-old Draco kissing one   
of his house elves. "You know Draco, you have the weirdest family that has ever   
existed."  
  
A brief look of pain flitted across Draco's face. "I know. I mean, shut up Weasley."  
  
Suddenly, Ron's brain came a bit more into focus. "Hey! You're naked!" he slurred   
drunkenly.  
  
"Ooh, nice powers of perception." Draco chuckled, flicking an invisible bit of dust off of   
his bare shoulder.   
  
Ron looked confused. "Why are you naked?"  
  
"It's hard to explain. I left my clothes in a swamp."  
  
"I'm drunk," Ron said solemnly.  
  
"I figured that…" Draco paused, listening intently. "What is that noise? It sounds like   
Harry screaming."  
  
Ron gave into cliché and rubbed his hands together evilly. "We got him wasted and left   
him in Ginny's room! Hahahaha!" At this, he fell off the couch.  
  
"Weasley, I think you're more evil than I give you credit for," Draco admitted, poking   
the sleeping boy with his toe.   
  
Draco shrugged and gave into the exhaustion that was threatening to overwhelm him.   
Changing forms was hard work, and he was tired. 


	29. …The password is “Scrubbing Bubbles”

29. …The password is "Scrubbing Bubbles"  
  
Ron, Hermione, and Draco were still asleep in the common room when Professor Snape   
muttered the Gryffindor password to the Pink Lady ("scrubbing bubbles") and stepped   
into the common room. He took in the scene before him and wished he hadn't, then   
reluctantly walked over to Draco. Averting his eyes, he shook the boy awake.  
  
"Mr. Malfoy! Wake up!"  
  
"Wha…" Draco unstuck his face from the leather sofa with a loud "pop."  
  
"I assure you that if this were during the school term, I would take 50 points away from   
Slytherin. You know the rule about being in the Gryffindor common room without the   
proper attire."  
  
"I…" Draco's attempt at coherent speech was interrupted by Harry Potter, who had just   
come running down the stairs from the girl's dormitory, a red and gold sheet hastily   
wrapped around his waist. He had forgotten to put his glasses on and so tripped on the   
third stair and careened down the rest of them, screaming loudly. This woke Ron and   
Hermione from their drunken sleeps. The sheet had somehow hooked itself around the   
banister and stayed there.  
  
Hermione shrieked, noticing first the icy black eyes of Professor Snape, and then the fact   
that Draco and Harry were both in the common room, totally nude.  
  
"Mr. Potter, explain yourself," Snape said coldly. Harry just gasped, because he had   
apparently knocked the wind out of himself with his fall.  
  
"Oh, honestly!" Snape yelled, and then waved his wand towards both boys. Instantly they   
were clothed in black robes that extended from their toes to their ears.  
  
"Ah!" Draco cried, "I'm dressed like Professor Snape!" He ripped furiously at the   
offending garments, but was silenced by a deadly stare.  
  
"I had come," Snape said, "to inquire as to whether you had received any communication   
from Mr. Malfoy. I see my question is irrelevant."  
  
"My father believed the whole thing. He said he's going to put even more wards around   
our house. He also said that he's shacked up with my girlfriend somewhere." He scowled.   
He didn't care about Blaise or anything, but it was so like his father to get his hands on   
anything that Draco had.  
  
"Charming," answered Snape. "That man is ever the sunlight in the lives of those around   
him."  
  
Ginny emerged from her room, Harry's glasses dangling from her hand. She looked   
mussed. Ron and Hermione immediately started clapping. Ginny bowed modestly.  
  
  
"Oof!" Lucius swore as Blaise's foot connected with his head.   
  
"Bastard!" she yelled, and kicked him again. He was untying her from the bed, but had   
been hampered when she started kicking him furiously.  
  
"Blaise, darling," Lucius purred, holding her ankle in a vice grip while removing the   
blindfold. "You can't possibly stay mad at me, can you?"  
  
"Yes, I can, darling," she answered, folding her arms across her breasts. As much fun as   
it was to be with Lucius, she was rather pissed at him at the moment.  
  
"Fine, be angry. But don't you want to hear about my evil plan?" Lucius asked. Blaise   
perked up.   
  
"Evil plan? What evil plan?"  
  
"I need to instill some good old-fashioned fear and respect in my son. His mind is weak. I   
want to do something that will make him so angry that he is forced to make mental leaps   
that he never has before."  
  
"Like what?" Blaise looked confused.  
  
"Well, I've already seduced his girlfriend, but he doesn't seem to care…" pondered   
Lucius. Blaise pouted, her perfectly shaped mouth drawn into a little circle.   
  
"We'll have to think about this," he admitted, with a wicked smile that almost reached his   
eyes. "But in the mean time, I have brought you a present. It's a charming muggle device   
that I ordered from a catalog I found in Draco's room. Normally I disdain muggle   
objects, but this one's a bit of fun…" Lucius quickly stripped, then rummaged around in   
his briefcase…  
  
  
"I can't believe you did that," Harry said. "You used me. I feel…dirty." He shivered.  
  
Ginny snorted. "Whatever, Harry. You're the one who attacked me and began taking my   
clothes off." She looked rather satisfied with herself, actually, and much less frustrated   
than usual.   
  
"Oh…right. Well…still!" Harry stalked around the room angrily. He had grabbed Ginny   
by the ear and pulled her into his bedroom for, as he put it, a "little talk." "Why did you   
agree to go along with Ron's stupid plan?"  
  
Ginny smacked a hand to her forehead. "Honestly, Harry, you are so stupid!!!! I've liked   
you since first year! Gods, you are SO DENSE!" Harry scowled but remained silent.   
"Besides." Ginny grinned evilly and plopped down on Harry's bed. "You haven't got a   
moral leg to stand on."   
  
"What!?" Harry was losing patience. "What are you talking about?"   
  
"Oh Harry, please." Ginny reached under the bed and pulled out The Box. A barely   
clothed, supremely buxom witch beckoned seductively from the cover of the magazine at   
the top of the stack.   
  
Harry blanched, then looked towards the door as though he had just remembered   
something. "I wonder what the others are up to? We'd better go and see." Harry hurried   
from the room. Ginny trailed after him, looking amused.   
  
"What the hell is going on!?" Harry yelled, shoving a note at Ginny as she came down   
the steps into the common room. Ginny tucked her hair behind her ear and calmly read   
the note.   
  
Gone to the lake. Be back in a bit.   
Tea and scones by the fireplace.   
  
Ron Hermione Draco Professor Snape 


	30. …Hermione really doesn’t understand Boys

Author's Note: Thank you again for all of the good reviews. I also hope that people check out my newest story, Blood Tithes, which will probably grow to be as long as this one...but much darker.  
30. ...Hermione really doesn't understand Boys  
  
Professor Snape stood by the edge of the gray and very cold looking lake and scowled.   
He couldn't remember how he had been talked into coming or, more importantly, why,   
and the whole situation was making him very peevish. He scowled some more. After all,   
why would three students, two of which had always hated the other, and a teacher go on a   
picnic by a lake in the middle of winter? It made no sense. And yet somehow they had   
talked him into it. Snape took another gnawing bite of his chicken leg, discontented.   
  
He looked over at the three students who had spread a blanket, presumably from   
someone's room, and were proceeding to devour a large lunch wheedled from the house   
elves who staffed the kitchen. Hermione had suggested turkey sandwiches and potato   
chips and the two boys had vehemently disagreed, instead voting for cold chicken.   
Hermione had taken a turkey sandwich for herself anyway and Snape now found himself   
nearly amused as he watched the boys try to pretend that she was now eating nothing of   
the sort. Their skittishness of the food confused Snape, but he was sure he probably   
didn't want to know anyway.   
  
Besides, what was more confusing in any case was the outing as a whole. Not the fact   
that they had decided to abscond and leave Harry alone with Ginny. That he could figure   
out for himself, despite Harry's little panic attacks. No, what was confusing was the civil   
manner in which their outing was being conducted. Draco was almost being nice to Ron   
and Hermione and they were almost being nice back. It was highly disconcerting and   
Severus Snape didn't like it one bit.   
  
He sighed as he walked back over to the group, and sat down on an unclaimed corner of   
the blanket. One of the things that had him so disconcerted, he realized, was that he was   
almost enjoying himself. The weather was uninviting and the company not exactly   
choice but it was certainly nice to get out once in a while.   
  
  
  
"Lucius, both the Andersons and the Whindletons have invited us to dinner next   
Saturday. They've been in a blood feud for years, ever since that stupid gray hound   
incident and dining with one family is bound to the offend the other. Which one of them   
is less important to your political maneuverings? I need to send a reply soon."   
  
"Darling, must we talk about this right this second?" Lucius had been conducting an   
experiment with Blaise that involved cocktail olives when his wife had walked into the   
room and the thinness of his patience was very clear in his voice. And to top it off,   
Narcissa had left the door open and there was a draft. Lucius Malfoy hated drafts and   
had spent a fortune to insure that Malfoy Manor, despite its age, was draft free.   
  
Narcissa crossed her arms in response to his question and stared imperiously down her   
nose. She didn't even bother to acknowledge Blaise. "Let the Garden Society hold their   
annual banquet at the Manor and I'll leave you alone." Narcissa had always had as little   
as possible to do with growing things, but everybody who was anybody in the world of   
aristocratic witches had a membership in the Garden Society.   
  
Lucius growled to himself before replying. "Fine, whatever you want. I assume you can   
find your own way out."   
  
"Oh, assuredly." Narcissa's expression was the small, tight smile of one who has   
successfully accomplished their goal. She didn't bother to close the door on her way out.   
  
  
  
Hermione shaded her eyes with her hand and watched as another stone arced across the   
gray water of the lake. Somehow the male members of the party had gotten into a whole   
stone-skipping Thing and Professor Snape was now using his status as a teacher to give   
an impromptu lesson on the only best way to skip a stone. However, it was quickly   
decaying into a contest between Ron and Draco to see who could skip their stone the   
farthest. So far Ron was in the lead by one skip.   
  
Hermione shook her head. She would never understand boys. They seemed to always   
want to make everything into a contest. This she could almost understand, as she herself   
was always very competitive when it came to school, but sometimes they were just   
utterly inexplicable. From the looks they'd been giving her when she'd been eating her   
sandwich you would have thought she was committing murder or something equally   
horrifying. 'Boys are just silly' she decided as she watched Draco heft another stone.   
Professor Snape was walking back to the blanket, apparently having given up on his   
lesson.   
  
Suddenly Hermione saw the oddest expression cross Ron's face as he watched Draco   
skip his stone. It was a sort of suddenly remembered righteous evil, and Hermione was   
confused. Then, before the stone had even finished skimming across the water, Ron   
shoved Draco into the water.   
  
Hermione started to her feet as Draco came up sputtering. He was scowling but he didn't   
look nearly as angry as Hermione would have expected. She figured it had something to   
do with the fact that he was wearing borrowed cloths and therefore wouldn't freak out if   
they got soiled.   
  
"What was that for!?" Draco's voice was rather high pitched from the cold and the black   
robes he was wearing seemed to drag at him as he started slogging back for the shore.   
  
"That was for..." Ron paused and glanced quickly behind him as if remembering that   
Hermione and Snape were there. "You know bloody well what that was for!" Ron   
shoved Draco back into the lake to emphasize his point. Professor Snape had stopped   
walking toward Hermione and had turned to watch the tumult, though he didn't seem at   
all interested in intervening.   
  
It was a second before Hermione realized that Draco hadn't come back up again though   
she could see the black lumps of his Snape-robes breaking the surface of the water. Ron   
seemed to realize this at about the same moment and waded out to where the clothes were   
visible. " Draco?" Ron made a grab and came up with nothing but sopping black robes.   
He turned and looked back at Hermione and Professor Snape, the quintessential worried   
Ron look plastered over his face. Suddenly, the water behind Ron erupted and a once   
again nude Draco dragged him backwards into the water.   
  
'Why do I have to keep seeing Draco naked?' Hermione asked silently. It really was   
ridiculous. Ron came up scowling and trying to wipe his hair out of eyes with hands   
hampered by long, wet sweater sleeves. Draco was grinning. "I thought you forgave me   
for that."   
  
"Never! I told you I'd get you back when you least expected it." Ron lunged and tackled   
Draco.   
  
Hermione watched as Draco and Ron began a mad wrestling match in freezing water.   
"Boys," was all she could say.   
  
"I don't understand it either." The look on Professor Snape's face was unreadable. 


	31. …Lockhart was Smarmy, but Cute

31. …Lockhart was Smarmy, but Cute  
  
"Maybe I could do something to his water dragon. The boy is unnaturally attached to   
it." Blaise just groaned and rolled Lucius over so that he was on the bottom. She was not   
looking forward to starting school in two days, because she was sure that Lucius would   
not go unnoticed if he were to visit her bed. Of course, Lucius did have a certain amount   
of power over at Hogwarts, so who knew…  
  
"No," Blaise managed in gasping breaths. "That's too easy."  
  
"You're right." Lucius looked remarkably unmoved by Blaise's gyrations. He was deep   
in thought. "Maybe…no…" The lines in his forehead deepened as he scowled.  
  
"Wait!" he yelled, suddenly sitting up. "That's it!" He clumsily shoved Blaise off his lap   
and scrambled off the bed. Blaise screamed, hitting the ground with an inelegant   
THUNK.  
Snape had done the only thing he knew how to do, and withdrawn the small flask of   
Ogden's Firewhiskey he sometimes kept in his robes. He poured a dollop in Hermione's   
lemonade. As for himself, he was feeling pleasantly warm, both from the alcohol in his   
stomach and the amusing story that Miss Granger was telling him.  
  
"…and so I had to spend three weeks in the hospital wing because I had accidentally used   
cat hair!" She giggled to herself, and Snape joined in the laughter.  
  
"I cannot believe," he choked out, "that a person of your intelligence would ever believe   
that Mr. Malfoy was the Heir of Slytherin!" He looked pointedly at Draco, who was   
currently engaged in a spitting match with Ron. This sent him into a laughing fit as he   
slugged back another mouthful of whiskey.  
  
"I know, I know," Hermione admitted. "It's ridiculous. Draco would never let somebody   
tell him what to do like that. And he's not nearly subtle enough to write secret messages   
and not blab to everyone that he was the culprit." Inside, she was a bit torn. She was   
somehow relieved that Draco had put his robes on again, but she had also been   
appreciating the view. After all, if he looked like that after being immersed in freezing-  
cold water… She shook her head furiously.  
  
"Something wrong, Miss Granger?" Snape asked.   
  
"Uh. No." She answered.  
  
Snape blinked, then shrugged as if to say: Whatever.  
  
Ron began to shout. "I win! I win! YOU LOSE, MALFOY!" he began a clumsy dance   
and toppled off the bounder that he was standing on. Draco glared at him and stalked   
over to the blanket.  
  
"What?" he asked, noting Hermione and Snape's questioning stares.  
Harry and Ginny were watching all of this out the window of Gryffindor tower,   
thoroughly confused.  
  
"I don't get it," Ginny said. She grabbed the Omnioculars from Harry and put her eyes to   
it. She could see Ron doing what looked like a victory dance around the picnic blanket,   
and Hermione, Snape, and Draco taking occasional drinks out of a flask.  
  
"It looks like Draco and Ron are friends," she finished, munching a scone. Harry   
grumbled.  
  
"Something happened at Malfoy Manor that they're not telling us," he said. "And I think   
I have an evil idea."  
  
"Ooh, what?" Ginny had entirely given up pretending to be the sweet, innocent, naïve   
little Weasley that most people thought she was.  
  
"Well, to get back at Ron for messing in my love life…I say we figure out some way to   
learn just what went on between Draco and Ron that they're not telling us…"  
  
Ginny became suddenly businesslike. "I know just the spell for that."  
A sudden rainstorm had driven the picnic inside, and Ron and Draco had gone up to   
Gryffindor tower to continue their masculine rivalries with a game of Wizard's Chess.   
Snape was doing whatever Snape did, supposedly preparing his lesson plans for the new   
term. Hermione was sitting by the fireplace reading. She had already read all of the   
textbooks for next term, and re-read all the books she had. Luckily, she had found a copy   
of Gilderoy Lockhart's "Holidays with Hags" shoved behind her Ancient Runes book.  
  
Hermione sighed. It was true that Lockhart had been really, really smarmy, but he was   
just so darn cute…However, she was rather glad that Remus Lupin had been re-hired as   
the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. He gave the best lessons, and was the nicest   
Professor by far.  
  
The hag jumped at me, her sharp yellow teeth bared in a horrible grin. I merely smiled   
charmingly at her and continued combing my hair. This startled the fiend so much that   
she tripped over a loose floorboard and went careening into the wall. When finished with   
my beauty ministrations, I dispatched her quickly with the Vanishius curse. The   
townspeople were so thankful that they showered me with money and presents, while I   
gifted the mayor with a signed copy of "Magical Me."  
  
"Checkmate!" Ron said triumphantly, as a small and furious battle began on the   
chessboard.   
  
"Fine. You win." Draco slumped back in his chair, leaning precariously on the two back   
legs. He was startled when a pitch-black owl swooped into the room and deposited a   
letter in his lap. He opened it gingerly, noting his father's seal.  
  
Draco –  
  
I have received word from the Parkinsons that their daughter Pansy is hopelessly in love   
with you. Why, I cannot imagine, but I have taken the liberty of arranging a marriage   
between the two of you that will take place immediately after graduation.  
  
Sincerely,  
  
Lucius Malfoy  
  
P.S. Did you know that Ms. Zabini has the most talented naval? I placed an olive in it   
and she could pop it out and catch it in her mouth! I certainly hope that she showed this   
unique trick to you.  
  
Draco snarled and crumpled the letter in his hand as Ron looked on quizzically. His   
father wanted to arrange a marriage for him, did he? He would never consent to marry   
Pansy, and he was going to find a way out of it if it killed him. 


	32. …Lucius really is a Bastard

32. …Lucius really is a Bastard  
  
Terrible sounds were coming from the crystal ball that Ginny had enchanted. Harry didn't   
know that you could use a simple crystal ball as a spying device, but Ginny had shown   
him a spell that could replay the events that happened to a person over a limited amount   
of time. Apparently Ginny was much smarter than he ever gave her credit for. She also   
had some rather cute freckles across the bridge of her nose, but…no, can't think of that   
now!  
  
"Draco! Draco! There! No...Oh YESSSSS….." a feminine voice was gasping. Neither   
Ginny nor Harry could bear to look and had squeezed their eyes shut so they wouldn't   
have to see the two naked figures entwined and writhing on the large black bed.  
  
Ron…Harry thought. You dirty little liar.  
  
"Um," Ginny squeaked. Apparently even she had her threshold for perversity. "I think   
we've seen enough of…that. Let's go forward a day." She waved her wand over the   
crystal ball, and they watched a new scene play itself out in front of them.  
  
"Having a good time, my dear?" a masculine voice asked. Blause opened her eyes and   
gasped, swallowing a mouthful of soapy water, when she saw Lucius Malfoy, clad in   
nothing more than a short black robe that was open almost to the waist. She spat out the   
water and coughed. Lucius chuckled.  
  
"Get out!" Blaise shrieked.  
  
"Oh, I don't think so…" Lucius drawled. Blaise opened one eye and saw Lucius   
advancing towards her, a sensual smile on his lips. Blaise raised a hand to slap him away   
but Lucius caught Blaise's arm in a vice grip and then slowly began licking each of her   
fingers lovingly. Blaise thrashed around wildly, but her struggles only pressed her up   
closer to Lucius' wet, soapy body. Blaise gasped as an arm encircled her waist and lifted   
her against the wall of the tub.  
  
"Oh…that's…disgusting…" Ginny said, entranced. She wanted to tear her eyes away but   
found she couldn't. Harry, on the other hand, had dropped to the ground and was   
covering his ears with his hands and muttering to himself so he wouldn't have to hear.  
"Seriously, Draco, what's wrong?" Ron and Draco had randomly set up a game of   
backgammon as something to do as Draco had become too hostile at the mention of   
another game of chess. Being unfamiliar with the game Ron was doing as bad as Draco   
but Draco had still been grumbling to himself and staring off into space.   
  
Draco snarled at Ron's question and angrily swept the game from the table. Ron started   
and stared at Draco in mute shock. "Oh, I might as well tell you. I've got no pride left   
anyway…actually, that's not true but never mind." Draco practically threw his father's   
note at Ron who read it quickly.   
  
"Man, your father really is a bastard isn't he?" He looked up at Draco who crossed his   
arms and nodded grimly. "To say something like that about your girlfriend."   
  
"No, you idiot!" Draco yelled, starting up from his chair and swinging his arms out as if   
about to smack Ron. Instead he snatched the letter. "The arranged marriage! I could   
care less about Blaise." A strange look of hurt crossed Ron's face. Draco responded to it   
with a look of puzzlement and the conversation was momentarily derailed. Finally Draco   
sighed and sat back into his chair. " I've gotten used to my father taking things from me   
and waving them in my face. It's just what he's like," Draco said by way of explanation.   
"But he has no right to go arranging my life like this!" The anger was back in full force.   
"I simply refuse to have someone tell me who I'm going to marry. It's absolutely   
ridiculous."   
  
Ron was looking slightly puzzled. "I thought that's just what the aristocracy did?"   
  
"What are you living in the dark ages?" Draco spat then softened his tone as he saw the   
look of resentment cross over Ron's face. "I'm sorry." Draco wasn't sure why he was   
apologizing but he did anyway. "I just have GOT to figure out a way to get out of this,   
but I'm having trouble thinking of something that won't get me disowned."   
  
"Hmmm." Ron leaned back in his chair, chin in his hand. "There must be a way.   
Perhaps if we put our heads together we can think of something." Ron, in his turn,   
wasn't sure why he was offering to help Draco Malfoy, long time school enemy, but,   
despite his earlier confusion, he could see the injustice in an arranged marriage.   
  
  
  
"Ginny, I was wondering if you had….oh, I'm sorry." Hermione walked in and saw   
Ginny and Harry sitting on the bed, their heads together, and turned to leave.   
  
"No, no it's ok. Come in. We were just trying to look something up." Ginny turned and   
revealed a large book in her lap. "What's up?"   
  
"Oh, I…what's this?" Hermione had caught sight of an object on Ginny's desk with a   
shawl draped over it. She reached to remove the shawl.   
  
"No, don't!" Harry and Ginny cried at the same time but it was too late. Hermione stood   
in shock at the picture the crystal ball revealed. A nude Draco lay atop what could only   
be Ron masquerading as Blaise. He was bare to the waist, red satiny skirts were pushed   
up around his hips and a thong dangled haphazardly from one ankle. Immobilized by the   
scene confronting her Hermione winced in time with the groans the two figures were   
emitting.   
  
Finally Harry came to the rescue, dashing up and flinging the shawl back over the crystal   
ball. "As you can see, there were a few things Ron wasn't telling us. I thought that he   
and Draco were hiding something so we cast a spell on this crystal ball to find out but   
Ginny's forgotten the spell to shut if off." Suddenly Harry turned to look sharply at the   
covered object once more. "Wait! Was that a BITE mark?"   
  
Hermione appeared to unthaw. "Oh yeah, I forgot you didn't know about that. He said   
something about pretending that it was part of his costume but he never told me how he   
really did get it." She sighed and sat down on the bed next to Ginny. "Well, that   
certainly explains a few things."   
  
"It also confirms Ron as an outright liar!" Harry snarled.   
  
"Harry," Hermione tisked. "You can't tell me that if you were in that position you   
wouldn't have denied it if you could."   
  
"I would never BE in that position!"   
  
Hermione shrugged, conceding his point. Suddenly she looked up, remembering   
something. "You didn't figure out what it was about turkey sandwiches, did you?"   
Harry and Ginny looked baffled. "Because both Ron and Draco refused to eat a turkey   
sandwich today and acted weird when I ate mine."   
  
"No, we didn't see anything about turkey sandwiches, but we did skip ahead a lot. I   
wouldn't be surprised if we missed something that would explain it perfectly." Harry   
was starting to act pissy.   
  
"That's funny," Ginny's brow as furrowed, "Ron has always loved turkey sandwiches.   
They're practically his favorite food." 


	33. …Draco Knows an…

33. …Draco knows an excellent Anger Management Therapist   
  
"I've got it!" Ron started up from the couch where he and Draco had started in for some   
serious thinking. "We could blackmail him!"   
  
Ron turned and grinned at Draco who was smiling wickedly. "You might just have   
something there Weasley."   
  
"You guys are going to blackmail me!?" Harry came storming into the common room,   
his wrath spilling over once again. Hermione and Ginny trailed in after him.   
  
Ron looked up, startled by the interruption in his thought process. "No, not you! Why   
would we blackmail you?"   
  
Harry snarled, "I don't know. Why don't you tell me?" Ron looked puzzled.   
  
"You know, I could get you an appointment with a very excellent anger management   
therapist. Did wonders for me." Draco turned around on the couch and stared at Harry   
challengingly. Harry just growled at him.   
  
Ron felt he had better jump in before the situation deteriorated any further. "No, no   
Draco is going to blackmail his father so that he'll call off the arranged marriage." Draco   
turned around and gave Ron a Look.   
  
Harry was not backing down and sneered, "Oh really? You two are getting married?"   
This time Ron and Draco shared a Look, the full contents of which could only be read by   
the two of them but a large part of which was extreme puzzlement.   
  
"Of course we're not getting MARRIED! Harry, what are you talking about?"   
  
"Ron, I can't believe you lied to us!" Harry was definitely in full steam righteousness   
mode now. Ron gaped. Behind Harry he saw Ginny, who hefted a crystal ball   
meaningfully. A cold feeling settled in the pit of his stomach.   
  
  
  
Lucius Malfoy strode down the corridors of his dungeon purposefully, smiling to himself   
because, even here, he had managed to wipe out the damned draft. The dungeon was   
extensive with a maze of corridors all lit by sputtering torches set in rusty brackets along   
the walls that gave off an oily, yellow light. Lucius Malfoy was very conscious about   
atmosphere and knew how to provide the right one for any given environment. The   
floors of the dungeon were all rough hewn stone with irregular dips and cracks that held   
tepid, long standing water laced along the edges with green slime. Yes, just about   
perfect.   
  
Finally he reached his destination, a large rusty iron door with a grated window and a   
very complex looking lock designed to look like entwined serpents. Lucius passed his   
hand over the lock, muttering an incantation and stepped back as the door swung   
ominously open. Lucius stepped briskly into the room and took a seat in a chair set by   
the door apparently for just such an occasion. Light from the corridor fell into the room   
in a bright shaft, illuminating a figure kneeling on the floor, apparently chained to the   
wall.   
  
It was a man, of indeterminate years, wearing rags and a long mane of uncut, uncombed   
hair along with a scraggly beard. Lucius smiled cruelly as the man slowly raised his   
head. "I just remembered the other day that I haven't come down to visit you in over and   
year and it was about time I did so." Lucius' voice held a mocking coldness. "I thought   
you might like to be updated as to what your dear old brother has been doing recently."   
The man on the floor just glared as Lucius continued blithely. "Of course all of the   
regular death eater stuff has been proceeding as usual. Harry Potter is still annoyingly   
alive but what else is new. The only interesting thing I've been engaged in of late   
involves your nephew who has been particularly annoying of late. Draco never really did   
learn any respect and so I've decided to teach him a lesson."  
  
A sound came from the seated man, as if he was trying to say something. Finally he   
croaked out a few words in a voice rusty from disuse. "Why do you insist on tormenting   
him?"  
  
Lucius raised an eyebrow almost up to his hairline. "Surely you just. Don't you   
remember the way father treated us? It's the only way to prepare him for manhood and   
responsibility. I'm not going to leave the Malfoy fortune to a sop."  
  
The other man wheezed as if he were laughing. "Lucius…you don't change. You're still   
a conniving bastard."  
  
Anger blazed in Lucius' eyes, and a hint of amusement. "A conniving bastard, brother,   
who managed to oust you from your inheritance." He turned and walked away, cape   
billowing out behind him. His voice drifted along the corridor coldly.  
  
"Oh, and I think I'll come visit you later. You can help me plan the wedding." He   
chuckled to himself quietly.  
Ron, for once in his life, was absolutely speechless. The amazing thing is that Draco was   
too.  
  
"You two…" Harry sputtered, "Ron, I can't believe. I just can't! You could have been   
caught! You could have gotten…pregnant!"  
  
Ron thought in a small corner of his mind that Harry was sounding amazingly like Mrs.   
Weasley, but didn't dare say it. At Harry's ridiculous pronouncement, Draco burst out   
laughing.   
  
"Shut up, Potter," Draco said good-humouredly. "This is absolutely not your concern!"   
He calmed down a bit. "Seriously."  
  
Ginny and Hermione were silent, arms crossed, wearing identical looks of curiosity.  
  
"Hermione explained that the potion affects the emotions of the people around it," Ron   
said, "The whole thing wasn't our fault. And it's over. So forget about it!" Ron felt very   
satisfied with his pronouncement, although he wasn't sure if it was one hundred percent   
truthful. Draco, grinning broadly, seemed rather glad to have this excuse to work from.  
  
"Anyway," Draco drawled, "Ron and I were discussing something privately." He stood   
up, grabbed Ron by the back of his collar, and steered him out the door. "Let's go, Ron."   
Ginny giggled. Harry muttered something about Quidditch and stomped up to his room.  
  
Draco covered Ron's eyes with his hand and practically dragged him halfway around the   
castle to the Slytherin Common Room. Covering Ron's ears as well, Draco whispered the   
password and pushed Ron into the room. Ron looked around. He was in the dungeon-like   
Room that he had visited once previously (although Draco seemed to have forgotten this   
momentarily) and he didn't like it any better today than he had five years ago. It had a   
number of black leather couches, silver engravings running around the top of the room, a   
few imposing sets of armor, and a full bar.   
  
"Now," Draco said as he flopped down on one of the couches and conjured a pad of   
paper and a quill. "Let's decide how we're going to blackmail my dad."  
  
A few hours later, they had a minimal amount of choices. Ron had flatly refused the idea   
that he transform himself back into Blaise and try to get Lucius to say something   
incriminating in bed. This was Draco's favorite idea, but he didn't blame Ron for not   
liking it.  
  
"What about all those horrible illegal…things you keep in the library?" Ron suggested.   
Draco glared at him.  
  
"Excuse me, Weasley, I happen to like those things. The Dark Arts book are very useful,   
and so is everything else."  
  
"Whatever," Ron shrugged. "Come on, there's something you're not telling me."  
  
Draco sighed. "Alright, but if I tell you this, you have to swear not to say one word to   
Potter and everyone else. Okay?"  
  
"Okay."  
  
"I'm dead serious. SWEAR!"  
  
"OKAY! Get on with it, Malfoy!"  
  
"Okay." Draco looked around furtively, although he knew perfectly well that they were   
alone. "Father has kept his brother in our dungeons for the past 25 years. No one knows,   
and he'd be taken to Azkaban if anyone found out."  
  
Ron grimaced. "What?!"  
  
"He made it look like Reginald committed suicide and then imprisoned him so he would   
inherit the Malfoy fortune." Draco peered at Ron. "I can't believe I just told you that.   
Father doesn't know I know, but I was practicing magic in the dungeons when I was four   
and saw him. I visit once a week or so when I'm at home."  
  
"Okay…but how are you going to blackmail him?"  
  
"Good question, Weasley. Give me a minute to think." 


	34. …Draco Has No Intention…

34. …Draco has no intention of marrying Anybody  
  
Harry was out somewhere zooming around on his firebolt, and Ginny was taking a nap.   
Hermione had finished "Holidays with Hags," tidied up her room, changed her clothes a   
few times, and was now thoroughly bored. She didn't know if she could handle going   
down to the library right now, because she desperately wanted to talk to somebody, and   
hopefully about something other than Ron and Draco's "relationship." Frankly, the idea   
of Ron sleeping with anyone rather bothered her, and she didn't want to think about why.  
  
She decided to visit Snape. Heaven knows, he was the only one in the castle at the   
moment with a bit of sense. Well, besides Dumbledore, of course, but she didn't think   
Dumbledore had time to talk with her.  
A knock sounded on the door to Snape's personal study.  
  
"What?" he asked crossly, looking up from his magazine ("Potion People Weekly").  
  
Hermione peeked her head around the door. "Professor Snape?"  
  
"What?" he asked again.  
  
"Are you busy?"   
  
Snape eyed the magazine wistfully. "A bit."  
  
"Oh." Hermione seemed chagrined.  
  
Snape sighed. "Fine, come in. Tell me what's on your mind." He gestured towards a   
chair, one finger pointing gracefully, beckoning for her to sit.  
  
"Well…" she began, as if she were choosing her words carefully. "I was wondering if we   
could discuss the potion I made. I'm curious as to why it has such an effect on the mental   
state of the drinker."  
  
Snape brought his fingers together in a steeple shape, a bit surprised that Hermione was   
showing interest in potion-making, which she had always excelled at but never seemed to   
have much of a love for. "There are three reasons for that. One…" He launched into a   
technical discussion of the effects of kappa venom on the human anatomy.  
Ron and Draco read over the carefully worded letter one more time.   
  
Father,  
  
I am afraid that I have no intention of marrying Pansy Parkinson or anyone else of your   
choosing. In fact, if you do not call this charade off immediately, I will be forced to reveal   
the secret of Uncle Reginald to the Ministry, who would dearly love to hear about it.   
Abducting or killing me won't change my mind, because I have placed a signed statement   
with a friend whom you don't know for them to deliver to Dumbledore if I disappear.  
  
I am quite serious. I await your owl.  
  
Draco Malfoy  
  
Draco had wanted to add a postscript that said some very lewd things that he had seen   
Blaise do, but Ron had glared at him until he conceded.  
  
Draco attached the letter, after sealing it and muttering a spell so that only Lucius could   
open it, to the leg of his owl Ares. Ares flew out the window, screeching with happiness.  
  
"Well, that's it," Draco said. "I guess now we wait."  
  
Ron nodded. "It seems pretty foolproof to me. Of course, the last time I thought that, we   
ended up in bed together."  
  
Draco snorted. "Yeah, let's not talk about that. Eighteen years old I may be, but I have no   
interest in men. At all."  
  
"Neither do I. I was a girl at the time, remember?"  
  
"Yeah, that's true." Draco looked like he was contemplating a very difficult Arithmancy   
assignment. "If it weren't for that, and the fact that the potion warps your brain, I'd   
probably be really angry. But the fact that you had to sleep with my father somehow   
makes up for it. I think."  
  
"Guess you'll have to find a new girlfriend, huh?"  
  
"No. That's the last thing I need. Sex is good, but relationships are not." Draco looked   
peevish. "In fact, you were almost a better girlfriend than she was. When we   
weren't…you know."  
  
"I guess I can't blame you for jumping on me whenever possible. Blaise is extremely   
hot." Ron gulped a bit, remembering just how hot. "Really hot."  
  
Draco idly toyed with the shoelace of his expensive leather shoes. "Oh well, no harm   
done. Although it does please me that Potter is so worked up about it." He grinned like a   
little boy who has just absconded with the cookie jar, several pints of ice cream, and five   
hundred galleons.  
  
Ron couldn't help but laughing. "Yeah, you would think that he slept with you, not me.   
He was so freaked out that Hermione forgot to take these away. I'm considering putting   
one in his tea some day." Ron produced from his pocket several glass vials full of thick   
gray-green liquid.   
  
Draco peered at them. "Is that the potion?"  
  
"Yup."  
  
"And you just have to drink it?"  
  
"Yes…why?" Ron looked at him suspiciously.  
  
"So if you took one, like right now, you'd be in Blaise's body right now?" Draco asked, a   
sensual smile taking over the lower half of his face.  
  
"What? No! I mean, yes, but…here?!" There was an edge of panic in Ron's voice. "It's a   
good idea, but…"  
  
"Aren't you forgetting? I'm a Prefect. I have my own bedroom." Draco gestured upstairs.   
"What else do we have to do?"  
  
"No." Ron said flatly. "I refuse." Draco scowled at him.  
  
"If we're doing this, you're taking the potion," Ron finished, smiling innocently. He   
reached over and ran a finger of Draco's lips. Draco looked startled, then rather pleased.  
Harry swooped and dived, letting off some of his anger and frustration. Flying always   
made him feel better. And without having to look for the golden snitch, he felt strangely   
free, just following the wind, not choosing where he wanted to go…  
"Accchhh…" Draco whined. "This is terrible! Yuck!" He clutched his throat and   
collapsed to the floor, huddled up in a fetal position. A few minutes of bone-grinding   
pain later, he felt like he could breathe again, and stood up.   
  
Ron's jaw dropped. Blaise – well, Draco – was wearing Draco's uniform, which was a   
great deal too big for her. Draco's pants hung off him provocatively, and Ron could see   
Blaise's generous breasts straining against Draco's sweater.  
  
"Umm…umm…" Ron said. Draco grinned at him and took his hand. "Upstairs" he   
whispered seductively into Ron's ear, and then nibbled it as he led Ron to his room. Ron   
snarled at him as soon as the door was shut, struggling with Draco's clothing. Draco   
laughed and quickly whisked off his shirt and pants, clad in nothing more than Draco's   
black boxer shorts. Ron felt like his heart was going to stop. He gently reached up and   
cupped Draco's breasts in his hands, then brought Draco's lips to his.  
  
Draco gasped, and almost jumped off the bed. Ron chuckled. "Feels a bit weird, doesn't   
it Malfoy?"   
  
"Incredibly. I never imagined…" Draco surveyed his new body curiously. Ron wrapped   
his arms around Draco's waist and pulled Draco down on the bed with him. The black   
silk sheets against Draco's sensitive skin made him catch his breath. That, and the fact   
that Ron's hand had begun a roving exploration inside of Draco's boxer shorts.  
  
Ron's lips worked their way from Draco's own, down his throat, over his collarbone and   
across one of his breasts. Here they stopped their roving and Ron began to suckle. Draco   
let his head fall back and arced his body into the feel of Ron's caress. Then his own   
hands wandered upward and he found Ron's clothes to be hugely annoying. He made a   
sound in the back of his throat as he tried to pull them off and Ron chuckled. He paused   
what he had been doing and in no time flat he was as naked as the day he was born.   
  
Then Ron's hands moved beneath Draco's back and began slipping the boxers down and   
down. His fingers trailed over the perfect roundness of Blaise's buttocks and down   
Draco's thighs. With this impediment gone he moved back up and settled more firmly   
atop Draco who gasped. Slowly, Draco's mind drifted away, his last coherent thought   
noting the pleasantness of the weight pressing into his belly. 


	35. …Harry is Curious, but Disgusted

Author's Note: This is the first chapter in the last portion of the story. Hope you like it,   
and please send input! I'm thinking of doing a sequel (tentatively titled "Take Me As I   
Am") but not for a while. The next piece I'll be working on is "Blood Tithes," which you   
can find on my author page.  
35. …Harry is Curious, but Disgusted  
  
Lucius sat in his study, staring at the letter in his hand. He nearly smiled; the boy was   
beginning to learn. Still, it wasn't enough. The boy had a plan, but did he actually know   
how to make it work? Had he planned for possible contingencies? Already Lucius could   
see many holes in what the letter had to offer. It was time he got this cat and mouse   
game really started; see what Draco was actually made of.   
  
Smiling grimly to himself he got out pen and parchment and began a reply. 'After this,'   
he thought to himself, 'I think I'll go take a bath and finish that fascinating book.' Lucius   
had heard that the Blackchurches had a gorgeous virgin daughter who had just turned   
seventeen and he meant to capitalize on this fact.   
  
  
  
"Mmmmmm. We'll definitely have to do that again." Draco turned and snuggled closer   
to Ron. "Why didn't you tell me it could be so much fun to be a girl?" he purred into   
Ron's ear.   
  
"Try walking in high-heels and then tell me it's fun." Ron chuckled and turned to face   
Draco. "Hmmmmm, I'm hungry." He lifted Draco's hand from where it rested on his   
waist and put it to his mouth, sucking each finger individually, pinky to thumb. Then he   
spied something over Draco's shoulder. "You have your own refrigerator?"   
  
"Yeah," Draco said warily as Ron got up and went over to it. "Why, what are you up   
to?" The turkey sandwich incident was still clear in Draco's mind but he wasn't sure that   
he wanted a repeat. Ron, however, ignored him, opening the fridge and staring inside.   
  
"Perfect," he crowed, grabbing a container and heading back to the bed.   
  
Draco looked at the yogurt dubiously. "I don't know, Ron." Yogurt was cold and he was   
so pleasantly warm at the moment.   
  
Ron removed the lid on the yogurt (strawberry) then put his fingers to his lips in a   
shushing gesture, smiling wickedly. Ron dipped a finger in the yogurt and slowly sucked   
it clean. Dipping in two fingers this time he brought them to Draco's lips and Draco   
obligingly licked them clean, relishing the sweet, cool taste. He nibbled Ron's fingertips   
teasingly.   
  
Ron went for the yogurt again and Draco's breath caught when he felt the coolness land   
on his belly. Ron laved the yogurt over Draco's breasts and belly and then again, down   
his thighs. Despite his earlier reservations, Draco thought he was beginning to like this   
idea.   
  
Ron put the container aside and bent over Draco, lightly brushing his lips over Draco's   
before deepening the kiss. Draco kissed back hungrily and the aftertaste of the yogurt   
mingled sweetly in their mouths and on their tongues. Then Ron started on the task he   
had set himself, beginning at Draco's breasts, licking them clean of every last drop of   
yogurt. When he moved downward along Draco's belly he felt the muscles jerk and   
flutter under his lips and couldn't resist one or two small nibbles. Draco's hands were in   
his hair and he felt them tighten convulsively in response to the bites, pressing him closer   
to Blaise's smooth flesh. Then he skipped downward, picking up again at Draco's knee   
and lingered there, tasting the soft inside of the knee, letting his tongue flick along the   
tender flesh. The fingers in his hair tightened once more and began the journey upward,   
reveling in the silken flesh.   
  
  
  
"Wow, I never realized before the elegant balance of traits each ingredient adds to the   
potion as a whole. With some experimentation one could make some truly refined   
potions, fit exactly to their purpose." Hermione was nearly breathless with the beauty of   
the science that she had never before known potion making to be.   
  
Professor Snape smiled with pleasure. It was wonderful to finally have a student truly   
connect with what he was saying. "Actually, often do that in my spare time, refining   
potions to cancel out ill effects and sometimes I construct others completely of my own   
devising. It is wonderful to create such things and to know a job well done." Hermione   
just stared at Snape admiringly, momentarily at loss for words.   
  
  
  
Night had fallen and Harry was still flying. In the air he could forget his troubles and   
become one with his broom, one with the wind and the air. The darkness didn't bother   
him, he knew the grounds well and there were lamps set at intervals along the castle walls   
to keep him oriented. Suddenly, a black shape hurdled out of the darkness and a flurry of   
wings nearly knocked Harry from his broom. In any case, he was sent momentarily out   
of control and had to pull up sharply to keep from flying straight into the ground.   
  
This, of course, riled Harry's never dormant anger and he determined immediately to find   
out what the hell that thing had been and what was going on. Noting the direction of the   
flight he looked towards the castle and saw a dark shape winging for one of the few   
lighted windows set close to the ground. His mouth set in a determined line, Harry made   
a beeline towards the light.   
  
When he got close to the window he landed his broom and approached more warily on   
foot. Gradually he began to hear voices and it became clear that one he knew quite well.   
One was Ron. The other was a female voice he didn't recognize right away. What the   
hell WAS going on?! Harry crept closer and peeked in the window, the bottom of which   
lined up with the ground.   
  
The sight that greeted Harry nearly forced a startled yelp from him and he had to clamp   
his hand across his mouth to keep himself quiet. There was Ron all right, totally naked   
and lying on a bed of black satin sheets. A girl was with him and as he looked closer he   
saw that it was none other than Blaise Zabini. Harry's eye's narrowed. He was missing   
something. Then his confused curiosity melted into sickened disgust and wrath as the   
form of the girl began to shift and eventually produced that of Draco Malfoy.   
  
A more sensible part of Harry's mind knew that it really wasn't any of his affair but the   
overriding part of Harry was furious at Ron had done. His anger was inarticulate and   
without even bothering to find out what the two (naked) boys were discussing with such   
animation, Harry turned and stalked away from the window. Remounting his broom he   
headed straight for the Gryffindor tower. Hermione and Ginny would listen to him THIS   
time, he was sure of it. 


	36. …Snape remembers how nice…

36. ...Snape remembers how nice hot chocolate can be  
  
Ron and Draco were extremely involved when the dark owl came swooping through the window above the bed and so for a few minutes ignored the letter that it dropped on the sheets before winging off into the night. Soon however they were able to remind themselves that it was probably a reply from Draco's father and their thoughts cleared enough for them to draw, regretfully, apart.   
  
"Let's see what the bastard has to say." The cruel smile curling Draco's lips looked so charming on Blaise's face that Ron was instantly resentful of the interruption and watched impatiently while Draco read the letter. "Shit! You were right, the plan wasn't as foolproof as we had hoped." Draco tossed the letter over to Ron.   
  
Draco-   
  
I admire the attempt but you're forgetting one crucial thing. You have no proof. If you even dare try to reveal Reginald's whereabouts to the Ministry I will simply kill him, as I should have done years ago, and destroy the body, thereby destroying all evidence. Who you think they will believe, a governor, or his small brained son no yet out of school? The wedding will go ahead as planned. Your mother and I are arranging a dinner next Friday for you to meet the family formally. I expect you to be on your best behavior.   
  
Sincerely,   
  
Lucius Malfoy   
  
Finishing the letter, Ron groaned and fell back on the bed, his hands over his eyes as if to block out the mess of the situation. He let his hands down and looked over at Draco worriedly, who was staring off into space. Finally Draco emitted a strangled, frustrated scream, throwing his hands up in the air and beginning to change back into his own form. Ron watched Blaise's beautiful body disappear with regret but knew that there was no way, with that temptation around, that they could think of any sort of decent solution.   
  
Finally back in his own form, Draco flopped back down on the bed to lie beside Ron. The two boys stared at the ceiling but no solution was immediately forthcoming. "So you really don't have any evidence that your uncle is really down there?" Ron asked cautiously.   
  
"Aside from the man himself? No." Draco groaned. "And my father's right too, no one would believe me over him, not without solid proof, and I'm sure he wouldn't hesitate to do away with him permanently as he threatened." Draco curled up into a fetal position and then rolled over and screamed into a pillow. Anger management classes or no, he was extremely frustrated and needed to vent.   
  
Ron reflected on how Lucius was able to so easily produce this reaction. He looked at Draco who was clearly near the breaking point and, for some reason, really felt the urge to comfort him, but it was more awkward when they were both in their regular bodies. Centuries of masculine homophobia took its toll. Aw, what the hell. Ron reached out and pulled Draco to him. The blond shook in his embrace and seemed unable to say anything more than, "What can we do?" over and over, his voice developing a hysterical edge.   
  
Ron held Draco and thought about the problem "You know what the real problem is?" he said softly, still thinking. "The real problem is that your father CAN kill Reginald. Your father has him locked up and therefore holds all the cards. If we could get him out of there and somewhere safe then we, or rather you, would be the one in the strong position and your father would have to do as you say."   
  
Draco stilled in his arms and stopped his muttered questioning. He looked up at Ron and Ron saw the old Draco come back into his eyes, the one with the wicked smile. "Once again I think you've got something there, Weasley. I hate to say it but I think you're the brains of our operation." He bit playfully at Ron's nose before getting up and going in search of his clothes.   
  
Ron sat up more slowly. At that phrase another realization had come into his mind. "You know, I don't know the lay out of the situation very well, but I have a feeling it would go easier if we had help." He glanced quickly at Draco to see his reaction.   
  
Draco's reaction was instant and angry. "I refuse to ask that flaming Potter for anything!" He was only half dressed, but his anger was so tangible that Ron could see no humor in the picture he presented.   
  
He bit his lip, trying to think of a way to get Draco to include the others. Help was always good, especially if it included Hermione Granger, who always seemed to have a solution to any problem. "You don't have to ask him," Ron finally said. "We can just give them some of the basics of what we're doing, not that he's your uncle or anything," Ron added hastily upon seeing the look on Draco's face, "and leave it up to them to join us. Besides, it's Hermione we really need and she's usually up for a surprising lot of stuff." The last trailed off hopefully and he held his breath, waiting for Draco's reply. He found that he really did want to help Draco, especially if they were going to be rescuing a man who had been imprisoned for 25 years, but the thought of going back to Malfoy Manor with no back up and barely anything resembling a plan did not appeal to Ron.   
  
Draco's shoulders slumped and he nodded his head wearily. "I hate to admit it, but you're right. We need help. We also need to act quickly because I'm afraid that my father will realize that the simplest solution for him is just to kill his brother now and remove the threat entirely. He is a very cruel man and it really is amazing he's kept my uncle alive all this time.   
Walking through the halls on the way to the Gryffindor commons -- Draco had finally relented about the whole secrecy thing and let Ron see where he was going -- passing the potions class room when they heard voices coming down the hall in the opposite direction. One voice resolved itself as Hermione and Ron was just about to run down the hall to meet her when the answering voice came back as Professor Snape.   
  
Upon hearing Snape, Draco glanced around quickly, spotted a shadowy alcove and thrust Ron into it, pressing him against the wall and kissing him while the other two passed by. "Really, Miss Granger, hot chocolate was a very good idea. I have forgotten how nice it can be during the winter. And stop by my office any time if you have any more questions..." the voices trailed off and Draco stepped back.   
  
Ron was feeling a bit dazed. The kiss had been a bit more passionate than was probably necessary for the masquerade and he looked at Draco quizzically. "But we were just coming to look for Hermione?" was all he finally managed to get out as they started off down the hall once more.   
  
"Yes, but we don't want to involve Professor Snape. Things would only turn into a huge mess if we did." Draco was pretending to ignore the questioning looks Ron was giving him and continued swiftly down the hall. Ron felt himself trotting to keep up. 


	37. …Harry Snarls

37. …Harry Snarls   
  
Harry came storming into the common room furious and it took Ginny several minutes to   
calm him down enough to get anything articulate out of him. Finally he muttered   
something that sounded like "Draco…naked…" and as interesting as this idea was, she   
was getting incredibly angry with him.  
  
"Harry!" she yelled, startling him from his angry tirade. "Shut up and then tell me what's   
wrong!"  
  
Harry blinked, staring at her as if for the first time. "I just did," he said.  
  
"No, you didn't. Not so that I could understand," she shot back. Just then, the portrait   
door opened and Ron and Draco stepped in. Harry turned and glared at both of them,   
trying to decide who he was more angry with. He snarled.  
  
"What's eating you, Potter?" Draco asked jauntily.   
  
"I saw you too," Harry spat. "In Draco's room! I SAW!" Ron and Draco both turned red,   
although Ron's flush was a bit more impressive, because he was a Weasley.  
  
"Saw what?" Ginny asked curiously. Harry's answer was interrupted when Hermione   
stepped into the room, beaming.  
  
"Guess what!!" Hermione announced, then stopped. "Guys…?"  
  
"That's not important," Draco said firmly. "I need your help with something."  
Several hours later, after approximately forty-two outbursts from Harry, Draco and Ron   
had explained their dilemma to the assembled group.   
  
"I have a plan, if any of you are interested," Hermione announced primly.  
  
"See?" Ron said. "Hermione always has a plan."  
  
"We obviously need to distract Draco's father somehow, and keep him away from the   
manor. Then Draco can sneak in along with a second person wearing the Invisibility   
Cloak –"  
  
"Don't tell him about my cloak!!" Harry moaned.  
  
"Then, Draco and whoever can sneak down to the dungeons under the cloak and spring   
his uncle. It's not a hard plan. You should have been able to think of it."  
  
"True," Draco said, "but who is going to distract father and who is going to come with   
me to the manor?"  
  
Something prickled at the back of Ron's brain. He had a feeling that…no…Draco   
wouldn't…  
  
Draco stared at Ron meaningfully.  
  
"No! I won't! No!" Ron yelled. Draco grabbed his by the arm and pulled Ron's head   
down to his.  
  
"Listen, Weasley," Draco whispered furiously. "Do you want any of your friends to sleep   
with my father, huh? It's nothing you haven't done before."  
  
Ron gulped, not liking this idea at all.  
  
"Besides," hissed Draco, "when you get back I'll…make it up to you…" he looked at   
Ron with an incredibly lewd expression plastered on his face. "I have a very good   
imagination."  
  
"Oh…" Ron debated the problem. The thought of Hermione, or Ginny, in Lucius'   
clutches finally won. "All right."  
  
"Excellent!" Draco said to Harry, Ginny, and Hermione. "I believe that Ron will distract   
my father. Who's coming with me?"  
  
Harry flatly refused in highly inappropriate language.   
  
"Not Ginny!" Ron squeaked. Ginny scowled at him.  
  
"Fine, I'll go," Hermione said. "Harry, get the cloak. I'm not even going to ask how   
you're getting Lucius away from home because I don't think I want to know."  
  
"Believe me, you don't," Ron said sadly. "I'm sure Draco will arrange everything."  
  
  
Draco did arrange everything. He managed to figure out in under five minutes where his   
father was keeping Blaise, get a coach there, and load himself, Hermione, and Ron (once   
again in Blaise's body) into the it along with the cloak. Ron watched the scenery roll past   
the window, wondering at the strange turn his life seemed to be taking. A week ago, the   
idea that he would be helping Draco Malfoy would have seemed absolutely ridiculous.   
But now…  
  
Draco and Hermione were discussing strategy. Their plan was to free Reginald and get   
out of there the same day. The only small hitch in the plan was figuring out where to hide   
Reginald once they had him. They had decided to set him up in the closet in Draco's   
room until a better solution could be found.  
  
Before they left, Hermione had brewed up another batch of the potion on the insistence of   
Draco and Ron. She had assured them that they had enough for this mission, but Draco   
and Ron had seemed strangely set on her making more, so she did.  
  
The coach rolled up to a neat little cottage nestled next to a hill, only a mile or so away   
from Hogwarts. Ron almost burst out laughing. With the tidy rows of flowers and   
tinkling wind chimes, the cottage seemed the last place that Lucius would spend his free   
time.  
  
Ron was proven wrong when he and Draco stepped inside. Instead of rooms, the entire   
first floor was swathed in yards of red fabric, with a massive round bend placed right in   
the center. Braziers smoked and gave off the cloying scent of incense. Asleep in the   
middle of the bed was Blaise Zabini.  
  
Draco stalked over to Blaise while Ron searched around the room. He found a caged owl   
next to the staircase and opened the cage door, letting the owl hop onto his arm.   
Meanwhile, Draco had placed a spell on Blaise that caused her to sit up and furiously   
dash out a letter imploring Lucius to come visit her. Ron attached the letter to the owl's   
leg while Draco unceremoniously shoved the nude girl into a closet.  
  
Draco snorted. "Serves her right." Ron grimaced, stripped out of his clothing, and   
climbed onto the bed.  
  
"Sure you don't want to join me?" Ron asked coyly, patting the silken sheets next to him.   
Draco shot a worried look out at the carriage where Hermione was waiting.   
  
"I can't!" Draco said, "My father will be getting that owl any minute! We need to get to   
the…manor…" Draco's words trailed off as Ron stretched luxuriously, providing Draco   
with a perfect view of Blaise's pert breasts.  
  
Draco strode to the bed and grabbed swooped Ron into a quick, desperate kiss before   
running out the door. 


	38. …Ron wants to talk about his Feelings

38. …Ron wants to talk about his Feelings  
  
The carriage pulled into Malfoy Manor. Draco and Hermione had halted the carriage on a   
nearby hill, watching until Lucius hopped on a horse and galloped away. Then they began   
their descent to the house.  
  
Hermione held her tongue, wanting to say several things about the ostentatious doorway   
with the ridiculous carved snakes. However, as she was under the invisibility cloak, she   
kept quiet.  
  
Draco walked into the house and tossed his coat at the butler. "I'm going to my room!"   
he announced to no one in particular.  
Ron contemplated the ceiling, in amazing good cheer. Maybe Lucius wasn't coming!   
Maybe he'd just wait here until…  
  
The door opened and slammed shut. Lucius strode in, a dark shape silhouetted against the   
light outside.  
  
"Blaise, my dear," he purred, throwing aside his cloak and walking stick. "You said that   
you missed me. I'm touched." He smiled, showing his teeth.  
  
Ron squeaked, fighting the urge to hide underneath the sheets and never come out.   
"Ye…yes I did…" he said pitifully.   
  
Lucius strode over, picked Ron up forcefully, and pushed him up against the headboard   
of the bed. He began a passionate duel with Ron's lips. Ron tried to come up for air.  
  
"No!" he croaked. Lucius stopped and looked at him quizzically.  
  
"It's just…" Ron said, "I thought we could…talk. About things. You know. Our feelings   
and all that."  
  
Lucius threw back his head and laughed. "You do amuse me, dear." He collapsed to the   
bed, positioning Blaise on top of him. "Now do your worst. Wait, where did you get   
this?" Lucius reached up a hand to Ron's breast and Ron looked down at the healing bite   
mark in sudden panic.   
  
  
  
"Seriously Harry, calm down. It's not important right now." Ginny was getting to the   
end of her rope when it came to dealing with Harry's homophobia and sense of betrayal.   
"Pleeeaaase, just let it go." But Harry had worked himself into a frenzy and was pacing   
up and down the common room.   
  
"I can't believe he's helping DRACO! I can't believe he SLEPT with Draco. He didn't   
even have an excuse this time. How could he? He betrayed me. Betrayed our   
friendship…" Harry's mutterings trailed off into gibberish once more.   
  
Ginny threw her hands up in the air, casting up a prayer that she would have the strength   
to deal with this and that Harry might see reason. Before she could think better of it she   
jumped off the couch and walked over to Harry, grabbing him by the shoulders and   
forcing him to look her in the eye. When he continued muttering she slapped him for   
good measure. That got his attention.   
  
"Harry," she said forcibly, staring at him intently to be sure he was listening, "Ron did   
NOT betray your friendship. Whatever he might be doing with Draco, that has nothing to   
do with YOU. Man, you can be SO self centered sometimes." Here Ginny paused to be   
sure that Harry heard the disgust in her voice. Harry seemed to have calmed down some   
and was apparently listening to her so she continued. "And besides, you have to   
remember, Ron is not you. He is a different person and so will make different choices   
than you. Anyway," Ginny paused to look flirtatiously up at Harry from under her   
eyelashes, "you don't want him being EXACTLY like you, do you?" She reached up on   
her tiptoes and brushed her lips lightly across Harry's. "Hmmm?"   
  
The last tension seemed to drain from Harry and he put his arms around Ginny, drawing   
her to him. "You're right on that last bit at least," he said before planting his lips firmly   
on Ginny's. Not one to let an opportunity go to waste, Ginny pulled away from Harry   
and walked away a few steps, letting her fingers trail down his chest as she went. Then   
she looked back at Harry seductively before sauntering to her room, entering and leaving   
her door wide open. It was almost no time at all before Harry followed her, slamming the   
door shut with loud finality and throwing her down on the bed.   
  
  
  
Ron was sobbing as convincingly as he could into Lucius' shoulder. He had never been a   
very good actor but he found that when he thought about how he was stuck here with   
Lucius and Hermione was off alone with Draco, on some level it really did make him   
want to cry.   
  
He had avoided the whole bite mark fiasco by making up a story about a cat that showed   
up and turned out to be vicious when he tried to befriend it. All and all the story was   
highly improbable, especially considering that there was really no way in all hell that a   
cat had made the mark on his breast, but Lucius wasn't scientifically minded, and neither   
was he actually concerned, so the story sufficed.   
  
During the telling of the story, however, Ron had realized how utterly hideous his   
mistake with the whole 'let's talk about our feelings' thing was and had used the time to   
try to come up with something that a brainless bimbo would have to say on that subject.   
His luck was not good in areas such as this but a sort of genius had struck. As soon as the   
stupid cat story was over, Ron had started wailing about the upcoming semester and how   
he wouldn't be able to see Lucius hardly ever and how he was going to be soooooo   
lonely and on and on until he had run out of stupid things to say.   
  
So now he was stuck pretending to be crying on Lucius' shoulder. Lucius himself wasn't   
helping much. He had just looked sort of befuddled during the whole melodrama and   
said one or two things about weekends but on the whole he was rather unresponsive. Ron   
was going to have to shift tactics if he was going to hold the man's attention and he really   
didn't want to think about what that entailed.   
  
But the inevitable was approaching. So he bit the bullet and did it. "I'm going to be so   
lonely," he wailed one more time before planting his lips on Lucius', trying to put as   
much feeling into the kiss as he could muster. Now THIS did get a response. Before he   
knew it Ron had been flipped over and Lucius' weight was grinding him into the   
mattress. Ron gasped despite himself before just letting his body take over. Resistance   
was futile. 


	39. …Hermione wishes she were Anywhere Else

39. ...Hermione wishes she were Anywhere Else  
  
"Where are we going?" Hermione whispered. She still had the invisibility cloak on and was following Draco as quietly as she could down the creepy hallway. 'Man, these Malfoys sure need a new decorator,' she thought, keeping her opinions to herself in case Draco turned back into the boy she had always known him to be at school.   
  
"I already said, to my room." Draco barely bothered to lower his voice.   
  
"Why are we going there?" Hermione hissed. Her stomach was twisting into knots of nervous panic and she almost tripped as Draco turned and led the way up a broad staircase. She knew Ron trusted Draco, though she couldn't think why, but she wasn't sure that she did.   
  
Draco chuckled. "Don't panic. I'm not going to eat you or anything." Hermione did her best to block this image from her mind. "It's just that my mother has a tendency to come and question me when I come back from being gone for a while, don't ask me why, and it's better if we're someplace she can easily find me. We don't want her to come looking for me later, now do we?" Draco turned down a dark hallway. "My room is probably the most comfortable place to wait anyway. Make yourself at home."   
  
They stepped into a large room and Hermione almost flinched when she saw the d‚cor. The only term she could really put to it was 'Goth' and the room was dominated by a large canopied bed, made up with black silky sheets. 'How charming,' she thought, rather wishing she were anywhere else right now.   
"Oh, I almost forgot to tell you." Lucius propped himself up on one elbow and stared down mesmerizingly at Ron. They had been laying there for some while 'snuggling' (though for Lucius this probably just meant resting up before another go) and Ron had been hoping to prolong this particular state as long as possible. He wasn't sure that he was at all comfortable with the way his body responded so readily to Lucius' touch and was not looking forward to repeating the experience. Ron inwardly flinched when he thought of how he was going to have to keep Lucius occupied all day.   
  
"Tell me what?" he said, hoping his voice sounded at least semi-enthusiastic.   
  
"Why the next part in my evil plot to beat some sense into Draco, of course. I'm sure you'll really appreciate this next twist." Lucius smile wickedly and started drawing lazy circles with his finger around Ron's belly button.   
  
"Ooooo," Ron ooed, assuming from Lucius' words that he should be excited by this. "What is it? Tell me." Lucius' hand on his belly was starting to make him feel jumpy so he put his own hand over it to still it and sat up, trying to put a look of keen anticipation on his face.   
  
"Well," Lucius' hand drifted up to Ron's breast and started toying with the nipple. "Draco sent a letter back saying that he would tell the ministry about my brother who's locked up in the dungeon unless I called off the wedding. This was a decent move on his part, but rather weak so I sent a letter back saying that he has no proof and I'll just kill Reginald if he tries anything. I expect now he'll try rescue the stupid man to try to get the advantage back but I'm already ready for him." Lucius smiled so cruelly that Ron had to work hard to repress a shudder. "Oh, don't look so worried, my dear," Lucius cooed, smoothing the hair back from Ron's forehead. "I'll wipe your memory of this conversation before you leave so you'll have no responsibility in the matter whatsoever. Do you want to hear what I did?"   
  
The look on Lucius' face suggested that if he had been female, he would have giggled. Ron just nodded mutely, hoping that his eyes didn't betray how disturbed he was. "I set a trap." Lucius did, in fact, chuckle then. "The moment Draco opens the door to my bother's cell and steps into the room, knives will fly out from the walls and rip my brother to shreds. In trying to save his uncle, Draco will kill him, and will learn a valuable lesson in the process. One that he'll never forget." Lucius smiled. "And my brother will finally be taken care of as I should have taken care of him years ago." The thought seemed to excite him, because he bent his head and began sucking on Ron's breast.   
  
Ron, however, was in a state bordering shock and was desperately trying to pull himself together so that he could think of what to do. Lucius Malfoy was even more of a monster than had first supposed. 'And I've slept with him twice now.' The thought made Ron want to run to the nearest shower and camp out under it for a month. However, he didn't have time to be worrying about that right now. People were in danger and he had to help them. With this thought an icy calm settled over him and he knew exactly what to do.   
  
"Mmmm, I have an idea," Ron said, trying his best to look mischievous. "Have you got any ice cream?"   
  
Lucius looked up at this and smirked. "Quite the little adventuress, aren't you my dear?" Lucius got up from the bed and headed for another room.   
  
As soon as he was out of sight, Ron dove under the bed where he had stashed his clothes when he stripped, and fished out his wand. He then took several deep breaths to steady himself; this was going to take more than a little luck. He then put the wand on the bed, laid down on top of it and stretched out as languorously as he knew how, waiting for Lucius to come back. He didn't have long to wait.   
  
Lucius was soon back, carrying a pint of what appeared to be mint chip ice cream and a metal spoon. "Look what I found," he said, sitting down on the bed beside Ron and running the cool spoon teasingly up and down Ron's torso. He then removed the lid from the ice cream and scooped out a spoonful, letting it fall onto Ron's belly.   
  
Ron shuddered while Lucius batted the lump of ice cream around the landscape of Blaise's perfect body, then held his breath as Lucius bent to lick up the sticky sweetness. Quickly, Ron drew his wand out from under his back and positioned it over Lucius' head. "Petrificus Totallus," he said quickly before Lucius could react to the shift of his body. Immediately Lucius froze, stiffening up like a board with his feet hanging precariously off the bed and his face pressed into Ron's belly. Then the weight distribution won out and he teetered on the edge of the bed before sliding off at an angle and landing with a thud on the floor. 


	40. …Draco enjoys messing with Hermione

40. ...Draco enjoys messing with Hermione  
  
Ron sat up immediately, relieved, and used the sheets wipe some of the stickiness from his body. He took a couple minutes to pause and wonder why this scenario hadn't been in their original plan, but he really didn't have the time. Right now he needed to get to Malfoy Manor and warn Draco and Hermione. Scanning the room quickly he saw one of Blaise's annoying strappy dresses flung over a chair back. He wiggled into it as quickly as he could before the press of time drove him, running, from the room.   
  
Once outside he looked around in a panic, wondering how the hell he was going to even get to Malfoy Manor. Then he spied Lucius' horse and quickly ran to untie it. He really had very little experience with horses, having been traumatized by one as a child when he tried to feed it a handful of grass and it had nearly taken the hand with it, but he supposed he was just going to have to learn.   
  
Quickly he scrambled up into the saddle and pointed the horse in the direction he thought was Malfoy Manor before giving it a good kick and hanging on for dear life. He wasn't at all certain that he could remember the way to the manor and he just prayed that, with the horse, between the two of them they could find it. His other major complaint, when he could spare thought for complaint, was that the terrible lack of his wardrobe made for an extremely uncomfortable ride. After this, he vowed, he wasn't going near a horse, ever again.   
  
By the time he reached the Manor, extremely thankful that it was where his memory had left it, he was quite disheveled and windblown and wondering how he was going to explain away the fact that he had forgotten to bring any shoes. Also, how he was going to get down from the horse?  
  
In the end he just jumped and managed not to bruise his hands too badly in the landing. He then squared his shoulders and marched imperiously up to the front door, only remembering just in time to ring the bell rather than pound on it desperately with his fist. The same butler that he remembered from before answered and Ron walked haughtily past him into the foyer. "Where is Draco, I need to talk to him," he demanded in his best imitation of aristocratic arrogance.   
  
The butler, at least, wasn't going to stand in his way. "The master is in his bedroom, Miss. Shall I lead you there?"   
  
"No, I know the way." He was halfway down the hall when he heard the butler speak again.   
  
"Has Miss forgotten her shoes today?"   
  
Ron acted as though the question were extremely impertinent and answered without turning around. "No, I did not forget my shoes. I simply didn't want any today." And with that he had reached the main staircase and was headed up. He only prayed that Hermione and Draco really were still in his bedroom. He didn't want to think what would happen if it were otherwise.   
  
When Ron reached Draco's room he walked in without knocking and was surprised to find Narcissa Malfoy in the room. She was sitting in a chair across from the bed talking Draco who lay on the black sheets naked, the expression on his face one Ron would never dare wear in front of his own mother. When Ron entered, Narcissa rose from her chair and turned to face him, the look on her face clearly disdainful of his appearance. "Draco, I didn't know you had company. I'll leave you two alone then." And with one last raised eyebrow she swept from the room.   
  
Momentarily frozen by the surprise of seeing her and her superior attitude, Ron stared at the doorway for a few moments before remembering why he had come. Quickly he turned and rushed over to Draco who had sat up on the bed, a worried expression on his face. "Oh, thank goodness you haven't gone down yet. I was afraid I wouldn't get here in time." Ron paused. "Draco, why aren't you wearing any clothes?"   
  
The worried look was momentarily displaced by a mischievous one. "I was messing with Hermione. That girl spooks so easily. She never took off the invisibility cloak but it was ever so much fun to listen to the surprised squeaks she kept making whenever I came near where she was standing. I think she finally fled to the bathroom or something." Draco chuckled. Ron found himself caught somewhere between a chuckle and a frown.   
  
"I did not run away. I just stayed out of the way in this corner." Hermione sounded infinitely superior as she stepped out from under the invisibility cloak in a corner across the room. "And I can't believe you didn't even put some clothes on for your mother. That seems so disrespectful."   
  
Draco just shrugged as Hermione came across the room toward them. "She doesn't really deserve any respect, the way I see it."   
  
Hermione's look said that she was just going to dismiss the whole thing and remain firm in the belief that boys are stupid. But then she frowned. "Ron, why are you here? Where's Lucius? What happened?"   
  
"I cursed him with Petrificus Totallus and left him in the cottage. Draco, why wasn't the original plan just to do that? It's so much simpler than be keeping him distracted with non-stop sex for almost an entire day."   
  
"That was your plan? To just sleep with him?" Hermione's tone suggested that there was seriously something not right in his head.   
  
Ron ignored her with a muttered, "Never again," and continued staring at Draco, who had the good grace to blush.   
  
"I guess I didn't think of it. Besides, neither did you, and he usually has wards against things like that."   
  
"Well, I guess I lucked out, didn't I." Ron shook his head. He was getting off track. "Anyway, that's not what's really important. What's important is that you were right. Your father did have plans to have Reginald killed, but it's worse than that. He set it up so that you would do it." Draco turned pale and beside him Ron heard Hermione swear more colorfully than he thought her capable of. "He made it so that when you walk into the cell to get him, knives will fly out of the walls and cut him to pieces. He said he wanted to teach you a lesson you would never forget."   
  
Draco looked like a stiff wind would blow him over. Tears leaked from his eyes and he dashed them away angrily. Hermione obviously saw that the situation needed bolstering. "Well, now that we know that we can go in prepared. I haven't seen a trap yet that doesn't have some flaw. We'll figure it out." Draco seemed to perk up at this and Hermione added. "So, as soon as you get dressed we'll get going." At this Draco actually smiled and stood up to go after some clothes.   
  
This reminded Ron of his own state of undress. "Um, Draco?" he said hopefully. "You don't have a change of clothes I could borrow, do you?"   
  
Draco turned and looked at him quizzically. "Nothing that Blaise would wear. Why, what's wrong with what you have on?"   
  
Ron bit his lip. It seemed somehow infinitely embarrassing to say, "I got no underwear," in front of Hermione, so he opted for the oblique approach. "Remember that problem I had when we left that little room to go back for the dance at midnight?"   
  
"Yeah?" Draco couldn't keep the lewd grin from his face and Ron scowled. Hermione just looked puzzled.   
  
"Well, I've got that problem again."   
  
Draco snorted. "Honestly Weasley, if our lives depended on you finding something we'd be goners for sure."   
  
"I was in a hurry," Ron said from between clenched teeth.   
  
"Well, I don't know what to tell you Ron. I don't think boxers would go with your outfit and you can't hide under the invisibility cloak with Hermione because people already know you're here. I think you're just going to have to tough it out." Ron muttered something unflattering about Draco. Hermione just shrugged and ducked back under the cloak, instantly turning invisible.  
  
"Anyway," Draco said, "let's go to the dungeons." 


	41. …Uncle Reginald is guarded…

41. …Uncle Reginald is guarded by Flying Snakes  
  
The three of them inched their way to the dungeons. Ron was being careful to hold down   
the back of his dress as he walked downstairs, worried that a sudden draft might come   
and whisk it up. Not that Draco hadn't seen it all before, but Hermione was here, and he   
was embarrassed. Draco looked somewhat jittery, and Hermione was doing a remarkable   
job of keeping silent except for when Draco stopped suddenly and she rammed into him   
with a loud and unfeminine "Oof!"  
  
"Shut up!" Draco hissed, leading them down a twisting stairway to the bowels of Malfoy   
Manor. Ron couldn't suppress a gag at the trickling water and green slime, and it smelled   
distinctly like rotten eggs.   
  
"Umm…" Ron asked quietly, "Are there any spiders here?"  
  
"Only in the South Dungeons," Draco answered, holding up his wand, which had a small   
flame at the tip. "I used to keep them as pets until father made me move them down there.   
The North Dungeons, where Uncle Reginald is, are guarded by flying snakes. But they   
won't bother me."  
  
"Great…" Ron didn't think he liked the dungeons very much. If only he could be back at   
Hogwarts, in the Gryffindor Common Room, in his own body…  
  
"This is it," Draco said grimly, waving his wand at an immense stone cell. The bars that   
enclosed it dripped with the same slime and water, and a haggard looking man was   
hunched up against one wall. Ron and Hermione could hear him take wheezing breaths.   
  
The man finally noticed them, and turned around, a look of alarm on his filthy face.  
  
"Draco!" he said, "Don't try to come in! Lucius—"  
  
"I know," Draco said, kneeling down and regarding the padlock on the bars with a   
determination. "We'll think of something."  
  
Hermione stepped out from under the cloak, and Reginald's eyes grew wide. She   
regarded the situation at hand.  
  
"If the trap is sprung when we open that door," she said, "I guess we'll have to get him   
out without using the door."  
  
"Great!" Ron said. The tension was getting to him. "So we just cut right through the bars,   
easy as that?" He sat down angrily, and then noticed that he had placed himself in a   
position with his legs splayed out. He flushed red and drew them together. Reginald   
looked at him oddly.  
  
"You can't cut through them," Reginald pronounced, "The bars have spelled built into   
them. They repel any magic. If you did try to cut them, they'd petrify you."  
  
A light came on in Hermione's eyes. "But if we try to cut them without magic, would that   
work?"   
  
Draco pondered this. "I bet they would. But how do we do that?" He and Ron looked   
stupefied.  
  
"Oh, honestly, you should both take Muggle Studies," Hermione said, rolling her eyes.   
"We just need a saw." No recognition dawned in either boy's face.  
  
"Accio saw!" Hermione muttered, and a saw came flying down the stairs, through the   
hall, and into her hand. She tossed it at Draco, who yelped and jumped away.  
  
"Get sawing!" she said, and busied herself with examining the knives hanging magically   
in the air above Reginald.  
Three hours later, Draco and Ron had sawed through a sufficient number of bars to allow   
Reginald to squeeze out. Hermione helped them bend them forwards, sweating and   
huffing.  
  
"This…is why…I'm glad I'm a wizard!" Ron said, furiously trying to bend a bar by   
himself.  
  
"Yeah," Draco agreed after the last bar had been bent. "I don't know how Muggles get   
through life."  
  
Hermione glared at them both. "Most of them do just fine."  
  
Reginald stood up painfully and, hopping up and down a bit to warm his legs up, bent   
down again and crawled out the opening.  
  
Suddenly, they heard a voice from the top of the stairs that made them freeze. It was   
Lucius, complaining loudly to the butler that he had fallen asleep in his cottage and   
missed dinner.  
  
"Shit!" Draco swore. "Under the cloak!" Hermione, Ron, Reginald, and Draco all hurried   
to conceal themselves under the Invisibility Cloak. They flattened themselves against a   
wall, hearing Lucius's footsteps as he walked quickly down the stairs.  
  
Lucius swore as well when he saw the cage and the absence of Reginald. "Draco!" he   
bellowed, turning and running upstairs. "Draco, where are you?"  
  
"Why did he wake up?" Ron whispered hastily.  
  
"I guess the wards were reactivated somehow," Draco said.  
  
"Forget about that, how are we going to get out?" Hermione asked shrilly.  
  
"There's a way…but you won't like it…" Draco said ominously.  
Harry and Ginny were both fully clothed and sitting in the Common Room when the   
portrait door swung open and several students came in, talking and laughing. Parvati   
Patil, Dean Thomas, and Seamus Finnegan waved at Harry and Ginny before going up to   
their respective dormitories.  
  
"People are starting to come back," Ginny said, leaning into Harry. "Where are Ron and   
Hermione?"  
  
"I don't know," he said coldly, "But they had better be back soon." 


	42. …What Happened to Ron isn’t Good

42. …What Happened to Ron isn't Good  
  
"Draco! You just kicked me!"  
  
"Did not, Granger! Now get off my tail!"  
  
Hermione said a very naughty word. Draco was momentarily struck speechless and   
motionless, and stopped his mind-numbingly slow crawl through the passageway. She   
thwapped him on the foot and he started up again, followed by Hermione, Reginald, and   
Ron (who insisted on going last because of the little underwear problem).  
  
Draco had been leading them through an underground tunnel that alternately climbed and   
sunk for the good part of an hour. He insisted that it would lead eventually to the swamp   
on his property, but it seemed to be taking several detours before doing so. At one point   
Draco had led them right off a ledge that dropped down into blackness, followed by the   
other three who landed right on top of him.  
  
"Stupid tunnel…stupid swamp…why do they have a swamp anyway…" Ron murmured.   
Reginald turned around and shushed him. Reginald didn't say much, but Ron was sure   
that years in the Malfoy Dungeon would do that to a person.  
  
Suddenly, Hermione screamed.  
  
"AHHHHHHH!" she cried, lifting her head suddenly and banging it against the stone   
ceiling.   
  
"What is it?!" Draco asked.  
  
"Something ran over my hand!" she shrieked. "Something slimy!"  
  
Ron was sure that whatever had run across Hermione's hand had to be incredibly bad to   
make the normally levelheaded girl scream out loud. He looked around nervously.  
  
"There!" Draco said, peering through the dim light. "There's the swamp over head! We   
just have to climb through that hole" (he gestured to a hole above his head, through   
which they could see murky green water magically held from spilling through) "and then   
swim to the shore!"  
  
"Sure…just swim to the shore…" Hermione said, in obvious bad temper. Draco ignored   
her, grabbing the sides of the hole and pulling himself up. Hermione went next, lifted by   
Reginald, who climbed in after her. Ron grabbed and pulled himself up as well. As soon   
as his head hit water, he swallowed a mouthful of brine and gagged. He pulled his legs in   
as well and began kicking furiously. Before he could surface, something long and scaly   
caught hold of his ankle and wended itself around his foot. He tried to scream, but only a   
few bubbles came out, and he could feel himself sinking down into the void.  
  
Hermione gasped and spit brackish water out of her mouth, then dragged in a sweet   
lungful of air. Treading water, she turned in place until she saw Draco dragging himself   
up onto a slimy patch of weedy ground. She swam over and Draco helped pull her up out   
of the water. They then turned and assisted Reginald who, more so then the two of them,   
looked like the quintessential drowned rat.   
  
The three then sat slumped in the mud, shivering, until they realized that something was   
wrong. "This is taking too long. Ron should have come up by now." Hermione tried to   
keep the tremor out of her voice with little success.   
  
"Maybe he hasn't left the tunnel yet." Reginald's voice was rusty from disuse but calm.   
"Draco, you had better go down and check." To Hermione's surprise, Draco nodded   
once to his uncle and dove swiftly into the water.   
  
As soon as he hit the water, Draco allowed himself to flow into his water dragon shape.   
Wriggling free of his clothes, he swam straight down and then moved along the ground   
until he came to the opening into the tunnel. As a dragon, Draco could see well under   
water and he knew that if Ron were in the water he should have seen him by now.   
Mentally crossing his fingers that Ron was just being wimpy and was still in the tunnel,   
he changed back into his normal form and wriggled back into the hole.   
  
Dropping into the darkness of the tunnel, he immediately sensed that it was empty and his   
heart dropped into his stomach. Still, just to be sure he wasn't missing anything, he   
invoked the flame to appear once again at the tip of his wand. In the dim sphere of light   
Draco peered around the gloom, desperately hoping for some clue as to what had   
happened to Ron. Sure, he was a long time school enemy, despised for his house and his   
poverty, but somehow he had become Draco's closest friend and Draco sincerely did not   
want to lose him.   
  
The floor of the tunnel was damp, which it hadn't been before, but Draco had attributed   
that to his own recent entrance. As he looked more closely now he saw that there were   
several strips of what appeared to be seaweed strewn along the tunnel floor and another   
hanging half through the hole from the swamp above. Draco approached a piece of the   
stuff cautiously and prodded it with his wand. Instantly the stuff reacted, curling around   
the wand as though around a bit of prey, and Draco's heart sank even further. He knew   
what he happened to Ron, and it wasn't good. 


	43. …Draco awakens to the need for Action

43. …Draco awakens to the need for Action  
  
  
Meanwhile, Hermione had cast a spell so that she and Reginald would be dry, if still cold,   
and now sat staring anxiously at the muddy water. Just when the tension almost   
overwhelmed her and she was about ready to dive in herself, Draco's head broke the   
surface of the water. He was once again naked and was carrying his wand in his mouth   
but Hermione was too worried about Ron to think about that right now. "Where's Ron?"   
she cried before Draco had swum halfway over to their little island. She helped him out   
of the water and felt like smacking him when he didn't answer right away.   
  
Draco just squatted in the mud, looking weary and miserable. He looked over at his   
uncle and his mouth worked a few times before he managed to say anything. When he   
did, Hermione wanted to punch him for not saying anything that made any sense. "The   
kraken's got him." The color drained from Reginald's face and Hermione looked   
desperately from one to the other, waiting for them to explain.   
  
"What do you mean, the kraken's got him? What does that mean?" Hermione practically   
screamed when the silence had stretched past bearing.   
  
"The kraken. That lives in the swamp. It took him." Draco was so pale he was nearly   
colorless and his mouth was clamped in a tight line.   
  
"What are you talking about? Kraken don't live in swamps. They live in oceans, where   
the water is really deep."   
  
"Tell that to the kraken." The tone of Reginald's voice suggested that the situation was   
hopeless and Hermione's violent tendencies quickly turned murderous. She wanted to   
strangle the man.   
  
"So does that mean he's dead?!" The thought was so horrible that she had to sit down   
and put her head between her knees to keep from fainting.   
  
Draco stirred and appeared to be awakening to the need for action. "No, the kraken   
won't kill him. Not yet anyway." Hermione allowed herself a little bit of hope. "But if I   
can't get him out of the kraken's lair he's gone for sure."   
  
"You make it sound like you have to do it alone. I'm coming to help. You can't expect   
me to stay here and hope it all works out." Hermione was angry at the thought that Draco   
would exclude from a rescue mission. Just because she was a girl. She'd been through   
more with Harry than he ever had.   
  
"No, you can't come. You would only be a hindrance."   
  
Hermione opened her mouth to object when Reginald cut her off. "Draco's right. Under   
the water you'd be no help to him."   
  
"I can do whatever he can," Hermione shot back hotly.   
  
"You can turn into a water dragon, and breathe and see under water?" Hermione wanted   
to kill Draco for the sarcasm dripping from his voice but, if that was the case, then they   
were clearly right and she was wrong.   
  
"Oh," she said.   
  
"But you're right about one thing." Draco got up and started rummaging around in the   
bole of an old log. "You can't stay here. My father will still be looking for me. At the   
same time, you won't be able to get off the grounds without my help." He stood up,   
holding a black bundle. "My friend will lead you to a cave where you can hide while I'm   
gone."   
  
"You want us to hide in a cave in a swamp while you're out fighting for Ron's life?!"   
Normally Hermione had a very mild temper, but not today.   
  
"I know you don't like it but you're gonna have to trust me on this one. Besides, I doubt   
Reginald could get far without a rest and there's some old stores in the cave so you won't   
be hungry. It'll be night soon and you really shouldn't be out in this swamp at night   
anyway. Here." Draco handed Hermione the clothing bundle. "Take that with you so   
Ron and I have something to change into when we get back."   
  
Hermione didn't like it, but she was starting to see the sense in Draco's plan. Then   
another thought occurred to her. "But what if you don't come back?"   
  
"Oh, I'll come back. Just pray I bring Ron back with me." Hermione frowned at his   
cocky grin, almost a match for the haughty look she had always hated about him. "Just   
follow the dragon." Draco pointed behind her and, before she could say anything, dove   
back into the water, disappearing from sight.   
  
"Well, I guess there's nothing else to do but follow the dragon," Reginald said calmly.   
  
Hermione scowled at Reginald, not in the least appreciative of his light attitude. But   
then, she guessed she couldn't much blame him. He didn't know Ron and he had just   
gotten out of a cell he had lived in for twenty-five years. That would probably lighten   
any man's attitude.   
  
Looking down at the water, she was surprised to see that there really was a dragon   
waiting there, all green and black and glittery. As soon as it saw they were ready to   
follow it turned and began swimming slowly off through the marsh. Wearily, the two   
followed, Reginald often leaning on Hermione as they tripped and stumbled through the   
chilly mud. Night began to fall.   
  
  
With a loud shriek, Blaise crashed out of the closet that Draco had locked her in. She   
wasn't sure what had happened but she had woken up (in a very uncomfortable position)   
in total darkness in what turned out to be a closet. While still groggy and disoriented she   
heard Lucius cursing on the other side of the door, and then the sound of the front door   
slamming. Then silence. She had pounded endlessly on the door, screaming to get out,   
but no one had come to rescue her. Well, now she was out. And Lucius Malfoy was   
going to pay.   
  
Ron awoke into cold, wet darkness. He sat up and nearly fainted, his head pounding   
furiously for a few moments before subsiding. He couldn't see anything but the air was   
so perfectly still that he figured he must be in some sort of cave. Crawling about on   
hands and knees he quickly ascertained that he had been left on some sort of large flat   
stone surrounded entirely by water at an indeterminate depth. Ron began to shiver.   
  
He was just drawing breath to call for help when he heard a stirring in the darkness. He   
froze and was silent, his whole body straining after that sound. It came again, along with   
a rippling like water just barely disturbed. Something was in the water and it sounded   
like it was coming nearer.   
  
Ron found that he was holding his breath and let it out as quietly as possible. Another   
sound came out of the darkness, this time a soft scraping along stone. Something touched   
his bare foot and Ron flinched away, horribly aware that he was trapped on this little   
island of rock. Again something brushed along his foot and Ron forced himself to stay   
still. The touch felt blind, and maybe if he didn't move it wouldn't notice him. More   
tendrils came out of the darkness and brushed along his skin, snaking along arms and legs   
and over his shoulders while he crouched on the rock, now petrified with fear.   
  
Gradually the tactile exploration ceased and whatever it had been drew away. Ron heard   
nothing but tiny plops as the tendrils reentered the water. He had the sense that the   
creature or creatures left then as the silence of the cave bore down on him. Feeling   
horribly alone, he curled up on his rock, tucking his knees up to his chest and trying very   
hard not to cry. 


	44. …Ginny hopes Harry is right

44. …Ginny hopes Harry is right   
  
Hermione and Reginald had eventually found the cave and Draco had told them of, and   
Hermione was not pleased. It was little more than a glorified hole dug out of an   
overhanging bank with a muddy bottom and roots straggling down the walls. The only   
real advantage that Hermione could see was that the entrance was hidden behind and   
screen of bushes so they had a better chance of not being found, either by Lucius or   
whatever other predators roamed the swamp at night.   
  
There was, however, food, for which they were both grateful. It was old and stale but   
sustenance nonetheless and it helped to warm their bodies, which were becoming   
increasingly stiff with cold. Reginald was exhausted and as soon as they had eaten he   
curled up along the back wall of the cave and fell quickly assleep. Hermione draped a   
cloak from the bundle she carried over him and then sat, brooding, at the entrance of the   
cave, praying desperately for Ron's safe return. It quickly became obvious, however,   
that she would not be able to stay awake long. Regretting the necessity, Hermione   
stretched out next to Reginald where they could share warmth, and pulled some of the   
other clothes over her in a makeshift blanket. She didn't really believe she could sleep,   
but soon was dead to the world.   
  
  
Draco wended his way through the darkness of the winter swamp. From his excursions   
with Madrid he had a rough idea of where the kraken kept its lair but had never been   
there, avoiding it like the plague. Now he knew he was getting closer. Around him the   
swamp appeared to be more and more devoid of life and all the trees still standing on   
uncertain patches of ground lifted long dead skeletal branches to the night sky.   
  
Gradually the scraggly grasses thinned out and the muddy banks receded, giving way to   
larger patches of open water. Draco smiled a dragon smile and dove beneath the surface,   
continuing his journey under the water. The kraken's lair would be in deep water and far   
below the surface. Now Draco needed to be able to see the underwater terrain, look for   
signs of the kraken's presence, whatever those signs may be.   
  
Suddenly, as he was skirting the edge of a reedy bank, a large form hurdled past him   
from the direction he had come. Draco coiled into the weeds and watched it pass. Its   
form seemed to be a writhing mass of darkness, impossible to make out in the black   
water, and Draco felt a chill go up his spine. Stealing himself, he followed after, praying   
that it would lead him to Ron and not out into the far reaches of the swamp.   
  
He almost missed it when the darkness that was the kraken disappeared beneath a pile of   
old, rotting logs and twisted branches. He was trailing far behind and it had seemed as   
though it had continued around the corner, but a stray bit of movement caught his eye and   
he saw it. The entrance to the kraken's lair. Draco hesitated. Going in there did not   
seem like a good idea. Not when he knew the kraken was in there. On the other hand, he   
didn't know when it would come out or what it would do to Ron in the mean time.   
Fortunately, he didn't have to make that decision. Moments after the kraken had gone in,   
it came gliding out again and into the darkness of the swamp. Draco just prayed that it   
wouldn't come back right away.   
  
  
  
"It's already night and they haven't come back yet. What if something went wrong?"   
Ginny was practically wringing her hands as she sat on the couch with Harry. "Maybe   
they need help. Maybe we should tell somebody."   
  
"Who could we tell? What could we say?" Harry dropped his voice as Seamus Finnegan   
walked past. "Let's just wait it out a little longer. They probably just got delayed." He   
put his arm around Ginny, trying to look nonchalant to the others who were beginning to   
fill up the common room.   
  
"I hope you're right." Ginny leaned her head on his shoulder, simply scared and totally   
uncaring as to what the others might think.   
  
  
  
Ron awoke with a start, having been unaware of falling asleep in the first place. The   
whispery, slithery sounds were back. He curled up into a little ball and put his hands   
over his ears, trying to block them out. He knew that the maybe-if-I-ignore-it-it-will-go-  
away approach was stupid, but it was all he had right now. Soon the sounds were gone   
and he was alone once more. He wasn't sure if that was better or worse.   
  
Then he heard another sound, something breaking the surface of the water, and he froze   
again. The fear shattered at the next sound, however. "Ron. Ron are you in here?"   
Draco's voice echoed softly through the cave.   
  
"Draco?!" Ron was weak with relief. "Draco I'm here. How did you find me?"   
  
"Oh, thank God." Ron's relief was echoed in Draco's voice and he heard the sounds of   
someone swimming over to the rock. A wet hand reached up, grabbing at Ron's own,   
and Ron helped Draco up onto the rock.   
  
As soon as he was up Ron grabbed him in a fierce embrace and they clung together,   
shaking slightly. Normally, and in his own body, Ron would have been embarrassed to   
cling like he was to another boy, but these were extenuating circumstances and he was so   
glad that Draco was here that he felt like crying. In fact he did start crying. Tears   
streamed from his eyes and he started hiccupping.   
  
"Shhhh. It'll be all right." Draco petted the side of Ron's face comfortingly. "Soon   
we'll get out of here and you will be safe." Ron felt himself crumbling at these words,   
and his arms tightened around Draco. He found his face by feel and kissed him ardently,   
clinging to his only anchor in the darkness.   
  
Then, he heard a soft scraping on stone and the two froze. "It's back," was all he could   
whisper in Draco's ear before burying his face in his shoulder, praying for the nightmare   
to end. 


	45. …Draco is oneeighth muggle

45. …Draco is one-eighth muggle  
  
Hermione sat up suddenly and painfully. She had been shaken out of a light sleep by a   
horrible nightmare about Ron being trapped underwater, and…she looked around sadly.   
It was true, and she was still in the dismal little cave.  
  
She listened closely to Reginald's breathing, which was noisy but strong. Under normal   
circumstances, Hermione would have felt a bit strange snuggled up next to a veritable   
stranger under a ratty old blanket, but she was too warm to care. As she thought about   
how much time had passed and where Ron was, she gave in to the overwhelming tension   
and worry and began to cry softly, tears streaming down her face.  
  
Reginald bolted awake, jumping to his feet and looking around frantically. With an   
expression like a trapped animal, he surveyed the crying Hermione with dismay, sitting   
down and scratching his head. Hermione hiccupped a few times.  
  
"Hermione…?" he started, as if unsure what to say to someone of the female persuasion.  
  
"I'm sorry…I woke you up…" she apologized, still crying pathetic little sobs. "You   
should go back to sleep."  
  
Reginald sat down, sighing. "It'll be okay. Draco always comes through in the end."  
  
Hermione felt a bit peevish, and countered with "Yeah, when he's not calling me a   
Mudblood."  
  
Reginald snorted, amused. "Guess he's never told you about Grandfather Alfred, has   
he?"  
  
Hermione peered over her arms, which were clutching her legs tightly. "Who?"  
  
"Alfred, my grandfather. Married a Muggle woman and was almost disowned, but then   
his older brother died. All his children were Squibs through-and-through, except for   
Arthur, Lucius' and my father." He sat back, leaning on his elbows. "That makes him,   
what…one-eighth Muggle?"  
  
Hermione blinked a few times. "Wait a minute…why are you telling me this?"  
  
"Because Draco, as wonderful as he is, can be a bit aristocratic about his heritage. And   
because you're obviously upset." Reginald looked worried. "Did I help? I can't really   
remember how to talk to people."  
  
Hermione actually laughed. "Yeah, you did."   
  
Reginald grinned, thoughtfully stroking his chin. He looked down at his waist, length,   
filthy beard and grimaced. "You know," he said, "As long as we're waiting, I might as   
well make myself presentable. I look like a criminal."  
  
Hermione looked him over appraisingly. "That's true. Do you want me to do it? I   
mean…" she looked embarrassed. "You don't have a wand, and all…"  
  
"Sure," Reginald said good-naturedly.  
  
Hermione grasped her wand in her hand and said an incantation. Instantly, Reginald's   
rags resolved themselves into normal, but plain, wizard's robes. As she watched, his long   
matted hair fell away and his beard dissolved itself, leaving him clean-shaven. Years of   
dirt and filth disappeared from his face, leaving his skin pink and well scrubbed.   
Underneath the layers of dust and grease, his now shoulder-length hair was the same   
white-blonde as Draco's. He looked a good deal like Lucius, except without the cruel   
smile and haughty air. He had more lines in his face than an average man of his age, no   
doubt from his cruel imprisonment.  
  
Hermione caught her breath. Reginald was incredibly handsome, and she shouldn't be   
noticing that!   
  
"Thanks," Reginald said, standing up. "That feels so much better! Wow!"  
  
Hermione blushed. Reginald looked at her strangely, his gray eyes searching.  
Draco and Ron huddled behind a rock, praying that the kraken wouldn't notice them. Up   
close, it looked like a writhing mass of ink streaming through the water. It swam into its   
cave, seemingly intent on something.  
  
Ron was digging his fingers into Draco's arm, pressed up against him in panic. He   
signaled frantically at Draco, as if asking when they were going to escape. Draco shushed   
him with a motion and watched the kraken intently.  
  
There was a strangled sort of cry from the cave, and the kraken swam out angrily. Ron   
started hyperventilating and Draco fought the urge to smack Ron to snap him out of it.   
They had managed to get to this perch before the kraken noticed anything was amiss, but   
now it had obviously noticed Ron's absence and would be looking for them. Hitting Ron   
was out, if only because the kraken was sure to hear it. He settled for plugging Ron's   
nose and covering his mouth until the lack of oxygen finally calmed him down. When he   
took his hands away Ron glared at him but remained silent.   
  
Ron still hadn't changed back from being Blaise and Draco found his mind wandering at   
the sight of that perfect pout. With effort he dragged his mind back to the problem at   
hand, and berated himself for not having done so sooner. The kraken was now circling   
the rock they were perched on as if sensing their presence and Draco was sure that soon it   
would send up questing tendrils to search them out. He felt Ron shaking beside him and   
thought that perhaps he had already had uncomfortably close contact with those slimy,   
scaly tentacles.   
  
Then he realized something; the kraken no longer looked like a mass of writhing black   
ink. It still looked incredibly dark but now Draco could see individual features. There   
was light coming from somewhere. He looked up and was surprised to see pale light   
filtering through a crack in the cave roof over their heads. He jabbed his elbow into   
Ron's side and pointed upward.   
  
Ron stopped shuddering and stared up at the light as though transfixed. Before Draco   
could stop him he began clambering up the rock they had been hiding behind. Once at   
the top he stretched up his arms but could not quite reach the lip of the hole. Draco's   
attention was pulled away from Ron by a sound from below. The kraken had stopped it's   
circling and was now reaching up with writhing tendrils, making Draco's blood run cold.   
  
Quickly he scrambled up the rock to stand beside Ron and surveyed the situation. Ron   
noticed the tentacles quickly coming up the rock below them and squeaked. "Draco, how   
do we get out? We can't get out," he nearly wailed and Draco briefly reflected on the   
differences between Ron as Ron and Ron as Blaise.   
  
"Shut up and let me think, will you," Draco snapped. Ron paused in his distress to look   
hurt. "I've got it. You lift me up and I'll climb out and then I'll pull you out."   
  
Ron looked like he was about to object but just then a tentacle lashed upwards and   
narrowly missed Ron's ankle. With a surprisingly sudden burst of strength Ron grabbed   
Draco around the knees and shoved him up towards the lip of the hole. It wasn't until   
Draco had grabbed the lip and pulled himself up and out that Ron realized that his face   
had been centimeters from Draco's butt. He was distracted from this thought when a   
tentacle twisted itself across his toes and he screeched and started jumping up and down,   
reaching up for Draco's hands. Finally their hands met and locked and Draco started   
pulling with all his might.   
  
His efforts weren't assisted, however, by the fact that Ron's legs were flailing, trying to   
knock away the tentacles that had finally reached up high enough and started catching at   
his feet. Looking down, Draco could see that the kraken had hauled some of its inky   
mass out of the water to extend its reach and was using many tentacles to cling to the   
base of the rock. The other tentacles were reaching up ever higher and some of them   
were now wrapped around Ron's legs and waist and pulling at Blaise's dress.   
  
Draco managed to haul Ron upwards far enough that Ron could get a firm grip on the   
edge of the hole and Draco was able to free one hand to try to assist against the tentacles.   
Aside from Ron's ankles, Draco saw that a great part of the kraken's hold on Ron was   
based on the good grasp it had on the dress. Producing his wand from seemingly no   
where, Draco spat out an incantation that caused the straps to tear and Ron was quickly   
dragged out of the hole as the dress swiftly slipped from his body.   
  
The suddenness of the action caused Draco to fall backward and land with Ron sprawled   
on top of him. For a few moments the two just lay in a stunned heap, trying to get their   
breath back and feeling their hearts slow as the adrenaline drained out of their systems.   
  
Lying, as he was, on his back, Draco found himself looking up at the bright face of a   
gibbous moon and realized that that had been the light that fell through the hole and   
saved them. His train of thought was cut off, however, as Ron sat up and replaced the   
moon with his head. Ron was grinning broadly and, before Draco had a chance to react   
to the sight of two perfect, unclad breasts dangling just above his head, he swooped down   
and caught Draco in a fervent kiss. Not one to let such gratitude go to waste, Draco   
grabbed Ron around the waist and rolled him over, giving him no chance for escape. Ron   
didn't appear to mind this turn of events at all and Draco's hand was just beginning to   
wander from Ron's waist when there came a terrible shrieking, crashing sound from   
below.   
  
Instantly, the two were sitting bolt upright, listening intently to the sounds issuing from   
the kraken's cave. With out a word spoken, both stood and began looking around for a   
way out of there. What they saw was not promising. They were standing on a small hill   
the jutted up out of the swamp. It's presence was virtually inexplicable as looking out in   
every direction all there was to see was mud and reeds and water shining coldly in the   
moonlight. Ron had unconsciously taken Draco's hand and he shivered and leaned closer   
to Draco as a wind picked up, reminding them that now was not the best time to be out in   
a swamp naked.   
  
The sounds coming from below suggested that the kraken was fit to pull the whole cave   
down, and them with it. Somehow they had to get away. The ground beneath their feet   
shuddered and Ron started to turn and run down the hill, but Draco grabbed his arm,   
halting him. "No. I think we must go quietly. We have to go through the swamp and if   
it knows where we are we don't have a chance."   
  
"But if we don't get out of here what's to stop if from just coming out and seeing us?"   
  
Draco thought about this question. Basically, they were in a lose-lose situation. "Here,   
follow me," he said, starting off to where the reeds came up to the base of the hill.   
"We'll have to stay low and stay in the reeds as much as possible. We'll just have to   
keep our fingers crossed that it doesn't find us."   
  
Once they got to the base of the hill Ron no longer looked quite so gung ho about leaving   
it as he had before. He looked at the weeds they would have to enter dubiously. "Are   
there spiders in there?" he finally asked in a small voice. Draco just looked at him,   
baffled.   
  
"We're running from a kraken and you're worried about SPIDERS?!" he finally asked,   
exasperated.   
  
"I don't like spiders," Ron said defensively.   
  
Draco just shook his head. "Man, when you turn into a girl you really go all the way,   
don't you." Ron opened his mouth as though to say something but then shut it with an   
audible click. Looking resolute he turned and started wading into the reeds. Draco   
followed and soon they were up to their knees in muddy water. 


	46. …We don’t know what Lucius is capable of

46. …we don't know what Lucius is capable of   
  
Ginny and Harry paused outside the stair leading up to Dumbledore's office. "I don't see   
what good this will do anyone." Harry's natural reluctance to ask adults for help was   
once again coming to the fore.   
  
"Harry," Ginny was losing her patience, "they've been gone way too long. We don't   
know what Lucius Malfoy is capable of. We've got to tell someone."   
  
Just then they heard voices coming down the stairs. Years of being Harry Potter took   
over and Harry grabbed Ginny's arm and pulled her around a corner, where they stopped   
to listen. "Mr. Malfoy, I am not trying to be vague when I say that your son, Draco, is   
not at Hogwarts right now. But I assure, as soon as he shows up I will inform you   
immediately by owl. I don't like the thought of students going missing any more than   
you like the thought of not knowing where your son is. Let us just hope that it is a   
foolish prank and that he will be back to continue school." Lucius' reply was brief and   
low, so they couldn't catch it but soon they heard a lone set of footsteps echoing down   
the hall.   
  
Ginny started around the corner but Harry pulled her back. "We have to go tell   
Dumbledore that they might be in danger."   
  
"No, didn't you hear? Lucius doesn't know where they are. They'll probably be back   
soon."   
  
"No, Harry. He said he didn't know where Draco was. What if he's got Ron or   
Hermione? We can't risk it."   
  
"If he's got Ron or Hermione why would he associate himself with missing students by   
saying that Draco's missing." Harry looked righteous while Ginny continued to look   
dubious. "Come on," Harry began pulling Ginny off down the hall. "They'll be back   
soon, you'll see." Then, in the distance, they heard a loud shriek that Ginny vaguely   
identified as Blaise Zabini.   
  
  
  
"So we thought that you could probably hide out in Draco's closet until we found a better   
place." Hermione had just finished describing some of the events leading up to   
Reginald's rescue. She had glossed over a lot, saying only that she didn't know what had   
gone on while Ron was at Malfoy Manor. Ron or Draco could go into that if it ever came   
up.   
  
At the mention of the closet idea a strange look clouded over Reginald's now quite   
handsome features and Hermione felt like an insensitive bitch. The man had been locked   
in a dungeon cell for 25 years and they were proposing to keep him in a closet. Lovely.   
"I'm so sorry, that's probably the last place you want to be." She gnawed on her lip,   
upset that she hadn't considered this before.   
  
Reginald reached out and awkwardly patted her hand. "It's ok. Anything's better than   
that cell." He smiled slightly. "Besides, you don't know how happy it makes me just   
knowing that I'll be around people again. Just sitting here taking to you has been the   
happiest time I have known in many, many years. This time his smile was broader and   
there was a suspicious glistening in his eyes. Hermione felt tears pricking her own eyes   
and resisted the urge to give Reginald a hug.   
  
  
  
Ron thought he was just about ready to die from cold as he slipped and stumbled his way   
through the swamp, following Draco. Being saved from the kraken was great and all but   
now he almost wished he was back in that stupid cave. At least it was sort of warm in   
there. He couldn't help himself. "Are we almost there yet," he whined.   
  
Draco looked back at Ron, looking almost annoyed but then he saw that Ron was shaking   
almost uncontrollably and his look softened. "I forgot how cold the water is to you.   
Maybe we can stop somewhere and try to warm up."   
  
Ron snarled at the mention of the fact the Draco wasn't feeling the cold and glared as   
Draco turned and continued on. He was grateful that they would be stopping but he   
thought he knew what Draco's idea of warming up would entail. Ron then proceeded to   
reflect on the strange swings his mood seemed to take. Back on the hill warming up by   
extreme proximity seemed like a great idea but it somehow seemed less appealing now.   
Maybe it was because he had been looking at the moonlit version of Draco's skinny,   
muddy butt lead the way through the swamp for the past hour and the view was starting   
to get old. Of course, there was always the argument that this entire thought process was   
meaningless when taken together with the fact of Ron's inexplicable pliability under   
Draco's touch. He was bound to change his mind as soon as they found a place to stop   
and started "warming up." Ron sighed and continued slogging.   
  
Soon enough they found a patch of grassy earth high enough out of the water so as to be   
relatively dry. Ron practically flew out of the water and onto the grass where he knelt   
and started shivering in earnest. There was a bush growing right beside the tiny island   
that blocked the wind but still, he was COLD. Draco knelt behind Ron and wrapped his   
arms around him. He felt as warm as if he were sitting in a cozy room and Ron wished   
he knew a spell to turn him into a blanket, or even just that stupid spell that Snape had   
used to clothe Draco and Harry that time in the common room. "How come you're so   
warm?" Having warmed up a little Ron was realizing how cold he actually was and his   
teeth were chattering violently.   
  
"It's a spell I made when I started hanging out in the swamp with Madrid. I'd do it for   
you but it was really complicated and took me about a week to prepare, once I'd learned   
it." Draco was now rubbing his hands along Ron's arms and legs and Ron felt like he   
was literally unthawing.   
  
"Who's Madrid?" he chattered, trying to mold his body as closely into Draco's as   
possible.   
  
"My water dragon. I forgot I didn't really tell you about him." Draco paused and began   
placing small kisses along Ron's shoulder and neck. "I think we can do better at   
warming you up, don't you?"   
  
Ron really couldn't think of any objections to Draco's plan, especially considering that   
his body was responding to Draco's touch by participating more actively in generating   
heat. A small flame was flaring in his core and spreading outward. So, turning himself   
around in Draco's embrace, Ron wrapped arms and legs about his body and bent his lips   
hungrily to Draco's. Suddenly, the grassy earth seemed terribly inviting and he lay back,   
pulling Draco to lie on top of him. Yes, this was proving to be a rather effective method   
of warming up. The roving flames of Draco's hands moved over his flesh and Ron lost   
himself in the sensation and warmth. 


	47. …Snape allows no discussion

47. …Snape allows no discussion  
  
"And what…" a voice barked at Harry and Ginny, "are you two doing now?"  
  
The two students jumped guiltily. Snape looked down his nose at this, crossing his arms   
and tapping his foot expectantly.  
  
"We were going to talk to Professor Dumbledore," Ginny said, summoning what seemed   
to Harry to be a rather impressive show of strength under the circumstances. Snape glared   
at her and then turned on his heel.  
  
"Follow me. Now!" Snape said, in a tone that would allow no discussion.  
"…Lucius and I both had our own horses, of course, but Lucius' hated him and would   
buck him off whenever he tried to ride it." Reginald smiled wistfully at the memory, his   
expression the one of a man who hasn't smiled in a very long time.  
  
Hermione regarded the cheerfully glowing fire that was taking up most of the space in the   
center of the cave. Reginald had used her wand to conjure it and had inexplicably also   
summoned several marshmallows and some sticks. Hermione suspected that he was just   
so happy to be able to practice magic again that he wanted to do all of it himself. She   
sipped at her mug of hot chocolate.  
  
Strange, she mused. Here I am sitting in a cave with Draco Malfoy's uncle and I'm   
actually enjoying myself. Somehow that doesn't seem right.   
  
Reginald poked the fire with one of the sticks, and then sighed. "I hope Draco and Ron   
come back soon. It's been quite a while."  
  
Hermione nodded. She had been trying to keep the worry in her stomach under control   
for the past half hour, but Reginald's words freed it. "I hope they are too."  
  
Reginald opened his mouth to say something, but before the words could come, Draco   
and Ron both ran into the cave, stumbling along the way and landing in a heap of arms   
and legs and…  
  
Hermione gasped. "Ron! Where are your clothes?!?"  
  
Ron struggled upward. "Don't ask, okay?!" He grimaced. Hermione shrieked and threw   
her arms around him, squeezing tightly.  
  
"Can't…breathe…" Ron choked out. Reginald grinned and smacked Draco on the   
shoulder as if to say: Job Well Done.  
  
"Ow," Draco muttered, rubbing his shoulder.   
  
"As much fun as it is to sit in this cave," Ron said, glancing suspiciously at the roaring   
fire and half-eaten marshmallows, "I think we should be getting back to school."  
  
"By all means, yes!" Hermione declared vehemently.  
"Oh Lord…" Snape muttered into his hands. He was hunched over his desk, and had   
suddenly developed a splitting headache. "I cannot believe you didn't come to me first.   
How could you have let three children go out and try to steal Draco's uncle out from   
under Lucius' nose?" He sat up and stared. "Do you not possess even one ounce of   
sense?"  
  
Ginny wriggled uncomfortably. Harry had taken to studying the desktop in front of him   
in great detail.  
  
"I'm sorry, sir," he said meekly, "It's just that…"  
  
"Just nothing!" Snape stood up, slamming his hands against the desk. "Lucius Malfoy   
was just here, do you understand? He is looking for Draco!"  
  
Ginny emitted a sound that sounded like "meep."   
  
"Twenty points from Gryffindor for that most undistinguished noise, Miss Weasley!"   
Snape spat. Harry made a sound of disgust as several globules hit him in the face.  
  
"I have never, in all my years of teaching!" Snape ranted, and began pacing back and   
forth. "Never! I…"  
  
He was interrupted as the door swung open. Snape, Ginny, and Harry looked at it   
expectantly. They could hear the sound of footsteps, and a muffled curse or two.  
  
"Stuff it!" Draco's voice shrieked.  
  
"Shut up!" Hermione hissed back. "We-oof!" A desk tipped over, and Hermione, Draco,   
and a tall blonde man tumbled out as if from thin air, landing on the floor. Hermione   
cringed and rubbed her head. Draco had landed directly on top of the man that hopefully   
was Reginald, planting his elbow squarely in Reginald's nose. Reginald held his nose,   
eyes glazed with pain.  
  
"What the hell is going on?" Snape said pathetically, and threw up his hands.  
  
"Where is Ron?" Ginny asked.  
  
"I'm here!" Ron's voice said. Ron's head appeared, but his body was nowhere to be seen.   
"I'm not taking this cloak off, either."  
  
In spite of the pain, Reginald snickered at this. Snape pulled out his wand and zapped him   
with a spell that healed his broken nose, looking perturbed at having to help a member of   
the Malfoy family.  
  
"Umm…why?" Harry asked.  
  
"Because he has no clothes," Draco answered placidly.  
  
"Oh." Harry said. Harry seemed to have reached his threshold for freaking out, and was   
reasonably calm.  
  
"I want young Mr. Malfoy to send a note to his father NOW telling him that he was   
hiding out to play a practical joke on Mr. Potter, or something. The rest of you will please   
get to Gryffindor tower IMMEDIATELY. I will see to…umm….I'm sorry, WHAT is   
your name?" Snape looked at Reginald pathetically.  
  
"Reginald Malfoy," he answered.  
  
"Whatever. REGINALD'S medical needs. And whatever happens, I do not want to know   
how the four of you got back from the Malfoy estate, all right?"  
  
Hermione glowered at him, and then turned and abruptly exited the room. A silent Ginny,   
Ron, and Harry followed her. Ron pulled the cloak all the way over his head so as not to   
scare passerby with his floating head.  
  
"Psstt…Weasley…" Draco hissed at Ron, following him out the door. "Come with me to   
send my owl." He grabbed at the air and by pure luck landed a handful of Ron's invisible   
shirt. He pulled him in the opposite direction down the corridor, Hermione and the others   
utterly unaware of what had just happened.  
  
"What is it?" Ron whispered, trying to remain quiet.  
  
"I have something to tell you," Draco answered out of the corner of his mouth. A group   
of second year Ravenclaw girls strolling by gave him a strange look, so he glared at them   
for good measure.  
  
Ron followed Draco to Draco's now familiar room, taking great care to avoid the   
Slytherins lounging about in their common room. Draco looked quite comical holding the   
door open before him for a moment and then walking in himself.  
  
Draco scratched out a hurried note on a piece of parchment after slamming the door shut,   
then attached it to his owl, who hooted with gladness at being let out of its cage. It flew   
out the window and presumably right to Lucius Malfoy.  
  
Draco sat down on his bed. Ron did too, suddenly tired. He still held the invisibility cloak   
around him tightly.  
  
"Did you notice?" Draco asked, "Who was in the cell next to Reginald's?" He looked   
around furtively.  
  
"Um, no," Ron answered, "Actually, I was trying to not flash everybody, actually."  
  
Draco narrowed his eyes. "Shut up, this is important! Father is planning something   
horrible, I'm sure. Think of the worst person for him to team up with."  
  
"He-who-must….oh, all right, Voldemort?" Ron cringed. Harry had tried to convince   
him to say the name, but it was still difficult.  
  
"No. WORSE." Draco's expression would have looked appropriate on someone whose   
puppy had just stolen all the money out of his bank account and run off with a blast-  
ended skrewt.  
  
"I have no idea."  
  
"He used to be our teacher."  
  
"Professor Lupin?" Ron said hopefully.  
  
"Still worse."  
  
"I don't….wait….oh NOOOO." 


	48. …Harry hopes Ron has some clothes

48. …Harry hopes Ron has some clothes  
  
Hermione, Harry, and Ginny were enjoying a cup of tea in the Gryffindor Common   
Room and ignoring the curious stares of the Creevy Brothers.  
  
"I wonder where Ron went," Ginny inquired, adding four lumps of sugar to her cup.  
  
"Frankly, I don't care at this point. As long as he's safe and in his own body." Hermione   
answered. "Oh, sod off," she said unkindly to a first-year student who was listening with   
much fascination.  
  
"Well, let's hope he's gone to find clothes." Harry paused. "And he'd better not be   
touching my broom, or so help me— "  
  
"I think Ron deserves to use your Firebolt, after all he's been through," Hermione said.   
  
"I agree. Think of all he's been tortured these last few days," Ginny said, and shuddered.   
"Sleeping with Malfoy. What could be worse?"  
Ron grinned to himself and swallowed the potion. He felt the familiar grinding pain, and   
the familiar settling into female shape. He threw off the cloak and settled onto Draco's   
bed luxuriously. Draco, for some reason, had a portrait hole that led directly into the   
kitchens and had gone to retrieve some food. Little did Draco know that Ron had one vial   
of the potion left. He had thought he lost all of it in the swamp.  
  
The portrait, of a rather scantily clad veela, swung open. Draco stepped in, his hands full   
of plates of cake and fruit, and gasped.  
  
Ron's mouth dropped open. "You!" he said in a high falsetto.  
  
Draco looked down at himself, grinning wickedly. "Bet you didn't notice when I stole   
one vial, did you?" He looked proud of himself. He and Ron both had identical versions   
of Blaise's perfect body down to the last perfectly curled black hair – full breasts, long   
legs, and taut stomach, all alike. He set the plate of food on his bedside table and hopped   
into bed.  
  
"But," Draco concluded, "this does pose a bit of a problem." He looked at Ron's female   
form ruefully, feeling a strange warm sensation begin in the pit of his stomach.  
  
"Well…" Ron looked from himself to Draco, thinking. Then it hit him.  
  
He picked up a piece of ripe peach and, grinning wickedly in a fashion that he would   
never have been able to pull off four days ago, deposited it on Draco's upper thigh. Draco   
gasped.  
  
"You mean?" Draco asked, as comprehension began to dawn on his face.  
  
"Oh, I do," Ron answered, and then pushed Draco down to the bed, covering his neck in   
hot kisses. "I do."  
THE END 


End file.
